Magnetic Refrigeration

Irfastr · 12-31-2001, 06:26 PM

I found this in my ISP's news section, enjoy kiddos, too bad its gonna take so long to get to the market tho

Magnetic Refrigerator Developed

AMES, Iowa (AP) - Scientists at the Ames Laboratory say they have created the world's first magnetic refrigerator, which someday may save consumers money on energy bills and be better for the environment.

``We're witnessing history in the making,'' said Karl Gschneider Jr., senior metallurgist at the U.S. Department of Energy lab said Monday.

Laboratory researchers have worked for years to develop magnetic refrigeration as an alternative to traditional cooling systems, which emit gases that contribute to global warming.

The new refrigerator uses a special metal that heats up when exposed to a magnetic field, then cools when the magnetic field is removed. It is the first device to operate at room temperature and use a permanent magnet rather than large, awkward superconducting magnets.

The rotary design features a wheel that is constructed of an alloy known as gadolinium which heats up when passed through a high-powered magnet. As the material leaves the magnetic field, the material cools down.

The result is a system that is nearly silent, because it is vibration free.

Gschneider said magnetic refrigeration could someday power air conditioners, freezers and other commercial and household systems.

He said the technology also would save money because the magnets do not require energy inputs to make them work.

``So the only energy it takes is the electricity for the motors to spin the wheel and drive the water pumps,'' he said.

Initially the new appliances would run on 110 volts of power, but battery-operated versions are a possibility in the future, Gschneider said.

A breakthrough occurred at the Ames Laboratory when researchers Sasha Pecharsky and Vitalij Pecharsky developed a process for producing large quantities of gadolinium, which is capable of producing a stronger magnetic field and improves the refrigerator's efficiency.

The Ames scientists are developing magnetic refrigeration for Astronautics Corp. of America of Madison, Wis., which wants to market the technology to the public. The company took over the concept from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1985 and devoted millions of dollars to research.

The Department of Energy and Astronautics Corp. are sharing the cost of the project, Vitalij Pecharsky said. The Ames Laboratory has spent about $2 million in federal money on the concept, he said.

The researchers hope commercial production will start in about a year with a major refrigeration or air conditioning company purchasing the patent rights to manufacture appliances. Consumers probably won't see the first model for sale for about eight years, Gschneider said.

Gschneider said the new appliances will likely cost more than the top of the line products on the market today, but will come down in cost as manufacturers produce more.

He said he has estimated that within five years, the new appliance will have saved enough money through more efficient operation to pay for the higher up-front purchase price.

Magnetic refrigeration was discovered by scientists in the 1920s, with slow improvements about every 20 years, Gschneider said.

On the Net:

Ames Laboratory http://www.external.ameslab.gov/

Astronautics Corp. of America http://www.astronautics.com

12/31/01 17:27

© Copyright All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of

Brad · 12-31-2001, 06:39 PM

the magnets will interfere with my hdd's...

which is why I doubt it would ever be too relevant to us

Irfastr · 12-31-2001, 08:35 PM

nah...... not if you have some shielding going on, lead would work
3 inches of lead would do just fine, and besides taht, you could put the water loop going from out side the fridges guts

Joe · 01-01-2002, 12:19 AM

you are both thinking way way too hard about this

it will be many many many years before anything like that will be available to geeks like us...

Ir - Love the avatar

clone · 01-01-2002, 12:31 AM

you said water passed thoguh it so i imagen that it would be a large water block made of this or proly the whole frige whell whatever it may be what i am thinking is if you get a good size pice of this stuff you mill it out and you do as it does and use it as a chiller for yoru systems watter could work but joe is correct wont see it for 5 years

Brad · 01-01-2002, 01:12 AM

not really Joe it's something I thought of in about 1 second. But you are right though, it is going to be under development for a long time, by the time we can get our hands on the technology we will be old

Irfastr · 01-01-2002, 05:20 PM

BLEH..... NAH...... NUH UH

all you have to do is get a hunk of this stuff, problem is....
SilentBob dont have no legs, where'd he got dem' lil monkey legs lyi'n around ehh???
he could just sneek in and grab some after it gets produced, the problem is making this stuff, they found a way to make it in mass quantities

actually ...... it would be better to try and make a chiller that actually worked, see the problem has been along that we've been trying to cool too much water, an inline system with 1/2 id tubing looped back and forth between 6 152 or 172 or 192watt pelts (muahaha) would be quite effective, a sandwich design would be desireable

once I get my inline mATX cube done, I will do some research on building a addon chiller box, I was thinking about putting barbs (in/out) on the bottom in the back of the cube, then on the chiller there would lil recepticles to latch onto the cube, and lock to each other, then hose from the back of the chiller would connect to the cube PC
I was thinking 2 Antec 400watt PSUs powering as many pelts as possible, lets see.... 800watts devided by 172 = 4.6511627906976744186046511627907 or 4.651
or 4.6 or nearly 5 pelts
now, 5 or 4 pelts ... well that sucks
ok 2 800watt PSUs is 8 pelts, now add a lil mATX PSU to power the water pump to pump the hot side through a Leviathin radiator

anyone ever wonder how interesting a few pelts would be on the side of a Monolith rad, ASII 4 of em to the sides, 2 per side, problem is is you gotta get the water to fill up the entire rad, there was a mod for this that envolved taking the bottom and top off the rad and putting 1/2 id or 3/4 id tubing there
I think it was on overclockers.com or something, the one that features the articles on bong cooling ya know

Brad · 01-01-2002, 06:09 PM

look at the 12v rail on the antec. What does it read?

realise you need to put two of them together to get 24v....

12-31-2001, 06:26 PM	#1
Irfastr Foo's Been Banned Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 7	Magnetic Refrigeration I found this in my ISP's news section, enjoy kiddos, too bad its gonna take so long to get to the market tho Magnetic Refrigerator Developed AMES, Iowa (AP) - Scientists at the Ames Laboratory say they have created the world's first magnetic refrigerator, which someday may save consumers money on energy bills and be better for the environment. ``We're witnessing history in the making,'' said Karl Gschneider Jr., senior metallurgist at the U.S. Department of Energy lab said Monday. Laboratory researchers have worked for years to develop magnetic refrigeration as an alternative to traditional cooling systems, which emit gases that contribute to global warming. The new refrigerator uses a special metal that heats up when exposed to a magnetic field, then cools when the magnetic field is removed. It is the first device to operate at room temperature and use a permanent magnet rather than large, awkward superconducting magnets. The rotary design features a wheel that is constructed of an alloy known as gadolinium which heats up when passed through a high-powered magnet. As the material leaves the magnetic field, the material cools down. The result is a system that is nearly silent, because it is vibration free. Gschneider said magnetic refrigeration could someday power air conditioners, freezers and other commercial and household systems. He said the technology also would save money because the magnets do not require energy inputs to make them work. ``So the only energy it takes is the electricity for the motors to spin the wheel and drive the water pumps,'' he said. Initially the new appliances would run on 110 volts of power, but battery-operated versions are a possibility in the future, Gschneider said. A breakthrough occurred at the Ames Laboratory when researchers Sasha Pecharsky and Vitalij Pecharsky developed a process for producing large quantities of gadolinium, which is capable of producing a stronger magnetic field and improves the refrigerator's efficiency. The Ames scientists are developing magnetic refrigeration for Astronautics Corp. of America of Madison, Wis., which wants to market the technology to the public. The company took over the concept from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1985 and devoted millions of dollars to research. The Department of Energy and Astronautics Corp. are sharing the cost of the project, Vitalij Pecharsky said. The Ames Laboratory has spent about $2 million in federal money on the concept, he said. The researchers hope commercial production will start in about a year with a major refrigeration or air conditioning company purchasing the patent rights to manufacture appliances. Consumers probably won't see the first model for sale for about eight years, Gschneider said. Gschneider said the new appliances will likely cost more than the top of the line products on the market today, but will come down in cost as manufacturers produce more. He said he has estimated that within five years, the new appliance will have saved enough money through more efficient operation to pay for the higher up-front purchase price. Magnetic refrigeration was discovered by scientists in the 1920s, with slow improvements about every 20 years, Gschneider said. On the Net: Ames Laboratory http://www.external.ameslab.gov/ Astronautics Corp. of America http://www.astronautics.com 12/31/01 17:27 © Copyright All rights reserved. The information contained In this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of

01-01-2002, 12:19 AM	#4
Joe The Pro/Life Support System Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 4,041	you are both thinking way way too hard about this it will be many many many years before anything like that will be available to geeks like us... Ir - Love the avatar __________________ Joe - I only take this hat off for one thing... ProCooling archive curator and dusty skeleton.

12-31-2001, 06:39 PM	#2
Brad Thermophile Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Nuu Zeeelin Posts: 3,175	the magnets will interfere with my hdd's... which is why I doubt it would ever be too relevant to us

12-31-2001, 08:35 PM	#3
Irfastr Foo's Been Banned Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 7	nah...... not if you have some shielding going on, lead would work 3 inches of lead would do just fine, and besides taht, you could put the water loop going from out side the fridges guts

01-01-2002, 12:31 AM	#5
clone Cooling Savant Join Date: May 2001 Location: West Springfield, MA Posts: 160	you said water passed thoguh it so i imagen that it would be a large water block made of this or proly the whole frige whell whatever it may be what i am thinking is if you get a good size pice of this stuff you mill it out and you do as it does and use it as a chiller for yoru systems watter could work but joe is correct wont see it for 5 years

01-01-2002, 01:12 AM	#6
Brad Thermophile Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Nuu Zeeelin Posts: 3,175	not really Joe it's something I thought of in about 1 second. But you are right though, it is going to be under development for a long time, by the time we can get our hands on the technology we will be old

01-01-2002, 05:20 PM	#7
Irfastr Foo's Been Banned Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 7	BLEH..... NAH...... NUH UH all you have to do is get a hunk of this stuff, problem is.... SilentBob dont have no legs, where'd he got dem' lil monkey legs lyi'n around ehh??? he could just sneek in and grab some after it gets produced, the problem is making this stuff, they found a way to make it in mass quantities actually ...... it would be better to try and make a chiller that actually worked, see the problem has been along that we've been trying to cool too much water, an inline system with 1/2 id tubing looped back and forth between 6 152 or 172 or 192watt pelts (muahaha) would be quite effective, a sandwich design would be desireable once I get my inline mATX cube done, I will do some research on building a addon chiller box, I was thinking about putting barbs (in/out) on the bottom in the back of the cube, then on the chiller there would lil recepticles to latch onto the cube, and lock to each other, then hose from the back of the chiller would connect to the cube PC I was thinking 2 Antec 400watt PSUs powering as many pelts as possible, lets see.... 800watts devided by 172 = 4.6511627906976744186046511627907 or 4.651 or 4.6 or nearly 5 pelts now, 5 or 4 pelts ... well that sucks ok 2 800watt PSUs is 8 pelts, now add a lil mATX PSU to power the water pump to pump the hot side through a Leviathin radiator anyone ever wonder how interesting a few pelts would be on the side of a Monolith rad, ASII 4 of em to the sides, 2 per side, problem is is you gotta get the water to fill up the entire rad, there was a mod for this that envolved taking the bottom and top off the rad and putting 1/2 id or 3/4 id tubing there I think it was on overclockers.com or something, the one that features the articles on bong cooling ya know

01-01-2002, 06:09 PM	#8
Brad Thermophile Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Nuu Zeeelin Posts: 3,175	look at the 12v rail on the antec. What does it read? realise you need to put two of them together to get 24v....

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)