Cooling with magnet! Developing magnetic refrigeration to make liquid hydrogen
Although it may seem strange, magnets can be used to cool other materials. This technology is called "magnetic refrigeration."
You may be wondering how this is possible. In this video, we illustrate the principle using air conditioners and rubber balloons.
Researchers at NIMS are working on magnetic refrigeration to enable liquid hydrogen to be made, stored and transported more efficiently, contributing to the development of a hydrogen economy in the near future.
FYI: In this video, we cooled a piece of gadolinium metal, which exhibits ferromagnetism at room temperature in the same way that iron, cobalt and nickel do. Gadolinium loses its ferromagnetic properties when it is heated even slightly. This makes it useful in magnetic refrigeration.
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