New Metamagnets Can Build More Efficient Refrigerators, Heat Pumps And Airport Scanners

A team of researchers led by Bellave Shivaram, a University of Virginia professor of physics, has discovered that a universal law that describes that the metal alloys can undergo dramatic increases in magnetization when a small external magnetic field is applied, such as from a permanent magnet or an electromagnet. These magnetic properties of metamagnets an be applied to bring more efficient refrigerators, airport scanners and heat pumps within the next 10 years. The research team discovered that all metamagnets have a non-linear magnetic effect and when they are placed in a certain magnetic field and the field is doubled, they more than double in magnetic strength.

The research was conducted in the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois under the supervision of Mr. Bellave Shivaram. The first and foremost application that comes to the mind when it comes to metamagnets is refrigeration. If this research work takes off from here, pretty soon these magnetic refrigerators can become a part of appliances in every household. The problem with the metamagnets in production today is that they work best at very low temperatures and the refrigerators they're used in consume the most energy at home. Other disadvantages include - high maintenance cost and fluorocarbons leaking.


With the arrival of new materials, the magnetism can be cycled on and off, enabling heat to be pumped away in a way similar to what happens in heat pumps today i.e. pressure is used to cycle the cooling medium from liquid to vapor phase. The new magnetic refrigerators, a magnetic material will be used to cycle the magnetic field instead.

Coming to the next big application - the airport scanners, which currently use harmless terahertz waves to scan through materials. If we use metamagnets in these screeners, we would be able to generate more efficient generation of terahertz waves converting high-powered, low-frequency radio waves into terahertz waves by using the non-linear properties of metamagnets.

How amazing is that? What are the different applications that you can think of? Share your thoughts with us on metamagnets and their unique properties.

Source: Newly Identified ‘Universal’ Property of Metamagnets May Lead to Everyday Uses | UVA Today