Magnetic refrigeration: the promise and the problems
Magnetic refrigeration uses the temperature- and field-dependence of the entropy of some magnetic materials to accomplish cooling. Because of the intrinsically high efficiency of the magnetization and demagnetization process and because of the potential for excellent heat transfer between solids and fluids, magnetic refrigerators promise to have higher efficiency than existing gas-cycle refrigerators. Many ground-based and space-based applications could benefit significantly from the cost savings implied by higher efficiency. Other attributes of these devices are high reliability and low volume and mass per unit cooling power. The development of these refrigerators is underway at several places around the world, including the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The progress to date has been encouraging but some problems have been clearly identified. The arguments for high efficiency and the problems that will need to be solved to achieve this goal are discussed.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 5104282
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-84-745; CONF-8404116-1; ON: DE84007481
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 21. space congress, Cape Kennedy, FL, USA, 24 Apr 1984; Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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