Magnetocaloric Measurements: From Energy Efficient Refrigeration to a Tool for the Study of Phase Transitions

By Victorino Franco | Sevilla University
Brad C. Dodrill & Cosmin Radu | Lake Shore Cryotronics

In the past 20 years, there has been a surge in research on the magnetocaloric response of materials, due mainly to the possibility of applying this effect for magnetic refrigeration close to room temperature. But in addition to the studies of magnetocaloric materials for increasing the energy efficiency of temperature control systems, the magnetocaloric effect can be used to gain fundamental insight into the characteristics of magnetic phase transitions. This article will discuss magnetometry measurements of relevant magnetocaloric materials and the resultant analysis and procedures proposed to characterize the phase transition using purely magnetic measurements.

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