Compressor-Free Refrigerator On the Way

Iddo Genuth writes "Scientists from Penn State University are designing the future of refrigerators and other cooling devices through magnetic field refrigeration. The investigation pertaining to electrically induced heat effects of some ferroelectric polymers might one day replace electrically powered refrigerators and their compressors and coils. The researchers are focusing on ferroelectric polymers that exhibit temperature changes at room temperature under an electrical field. The same technology might also find its way into computers and other devices in the future, making them run cooler without complex cooling mechanisms."

Comments

My highly original thought on the subject

[MyLongNickName]

This could feasibly be used to make a practical air conditioner by having a segmented disk shape block that allows air to pass through.

Outside air would pass through one half of the disk that is currently energised (the electric field orders the polymer and thus releases heat).

The inside air would pass through the other half that is currently not energised (the relaxation of the electric field allows the material to absorb heat).

The disk rotates with segments shifting between the outside / inside halves, the electric field is applied by a simple electric comutation.

This is not a true "no moving parts" system but it has the potential to be an order of magnitude quieter than the current air conditioning units.

Re:My highly original thought on the subject

[MyLongNickName]

I'm not sure how close they come to reverse Carnot in a modern "fridge", but they are very durable. It seems like we had two refridgerators the whole time I was growing up, and the only reason we got the 2nd one was because we were in a different house. It's not exactly like they were being fixed all the time either. In fact, aside from the fact that the fridge we had when I was a kid required manual defrost, I don't think they ever required maintenance. The HVAC unit in my old condo had to be pulled. This was in 2006. When the tech opened it up, we discovered it was build in 1979. These units are essentially refrigerators too, with compressors. Now, that was a good old USA unit, with a steel housing and everything. I'm not sure if the cheapo plastic jobs they installed will hold up as well, but that's an implementation issue, not a problem inherent with the underlying tech.

The point is, can this new technology be as efficient as a compressor, as cheap as a compressor and as DURABLE as a compressor?

That said, perhaps it will find applications outside of keeping your OJ cool and your brow dry. If it does, great; but the current tech is pretty good. I wish they were silent, but even at that, a modern fridge is pretty quiet too.