[News Bot]

Cars would be heated and cooled with a new class of nanomaterial-base heat pump that responds to applied electricity.

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[somanywelps]

That sounds like a peltier, and peltiers aren't that efficient.

[coulombKid]

Originally Posted by somanywelps

That sounds like a peltier, and peltiers aren't that efficient.

To be a heat pump it must be cooling an air stream from outside the cabin. The description of the proposed device is to vague to evaluate. Research funding for this should be doled out in increments with required milestones to be continued. We're seeing a lot more nanotechnology venture capitol pitches. I'm even dubious of IBM's claims that they can grow a lithium-air battery.

[aeroscott]

It might be a extension of the magnetic refrigeration used to liquify hydrogen(at eff. close to the 75% that is achieved industrially, in a table top test machine) back in the 80's by NASA. It needed very powerful magnets (superconducting) and gadolinium , very small temp change per cycle , but was inbeded in a rotating wheel (passed by a magnet) . The project ended up in privet hands in Madison Wisc.

[coulombKid]

Originally Posted by aeroscott

It might be a extension of the magnetic refrigeration used to liquify hydrogen(at eff. close to the 75% that is achieved industrially, in a table top test machine) back in the 80's by NASA. It needed very powerful magnets (superconducting) and gadolinium , very small temp change per cycle , but was inbeded in a rotating wheel (passed by a magnet) . The project ended up in privet hands in Madison Wisc.

There was a half page entry on magnetic refrigeration in one of my college text books 30 years ago. Some of my old profs noticed 20 years ago that at temperatures near absolute zero some magnetic materials reverse their polarity.

[aeroscott]

It is the act of mangneticisnig the material ,polarity would not mater . I wonder what they were getting at ? As the material is magnetied it heats the heat is removed as is the magnetization is removed leading to a new lower temp . Sounds like he wanted to sound knowledgeable without putting much time into the subject . In his defense , it was hard to find much information . I had spent a large amount of time researching it.