Innovative Alloy Developed by Russian and International Scientists Promises Greener Refrigeration Technology
A collaborative effort by Russian and international material scientists has led to the creation of a groundbreaking alloy composed of nickel, manganese, tin, and copper. This alloy exhibits the unique ability to actively absorb heat under magnetic fields and cool the surrounding area to temperatures nearing zero degrees Celsius. The implications of this discovery are significant, particularly for enhancing the efficiency and speed of Freon-based refrigeration systems. This study, supported by the Russian Science Foundation (RNF), has been published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
The newly developed alloy demonstrates exceptional cooling capabilities. Adler Gamzatov, a leading researcher at the Institute of Physics of the Dagestan Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Makhachkala, highlighted its efficiency. The alloy can cool objects by 13 degrees Celsius in just 0.1 seconds, a stark contrast to the average minute it takes to cool a refrigerator using gas refrigerants by 1.8 degrees Celsius. This efficiency opens the door to developing hybrid cooling systems that are faster and more energy-efficient.
The scientists made this discovery while examining the properties of the alloy they created, which is primarily composed of nickel and manganese with minor additions of tin and copper. This material falls under the category of Geisler alloys – complex compounds featuring various metal atoms whose bonds can significantly alter under magnetic influence. This property not only enables these alloys to exhibit a 'memory effect', changing shape in response to magnetic fields, but also to absorb heat from their surroundings during magnetisation and demagnetisation cycles.
Traditionally, the heat absorption effect in such alloys is effective at very low ambient temperatures, limiting their application in household refrigeration. However, the newly developed alloy overcomes this limitation, functioning actively within a temperature range of minus 20 degrees Celsius to plus 10 degrees Celsius. When optimally used, it can reduce the ambient temperature by 11-13 degrees Celsius in about a tenth of a second.
