CSIC is a molecular material to cool to temperatures close to absolute zero
on June 16, 2011
An investigation led by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) has identified a new magnetic material of molecular base, acetate of gadolinium tetrahidrato, that allows cooling to temperatures close to absolute zero (-273, 15 ° C) at a cost much lower than the materials used today. The conclusions of the study, published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, offer new possibilities in the field of the cryogenics.
"The world of scientific research experiments at temperatures close to absolute zero are very important because they allow to study the magnetic, electrical and thermal properties of materials in their ground state, thus giving rise to the development of new materials and new applications." "Helio-3 is currently used for these purposes, however a few years the use of this gas entails very high costs, since its use in the field of international security to detect chemical weapons triggered demand," explains the researcher at the CSIC, Marco Evangelisti, of the Institute of materials science of Aragon.
Tetrahidrato gadolinium acetate offers, according to researchers who have developed the study, a cheaper alternative to the Helio-3 in the work is required in those approaching absolute zero, the point in which the atoms of materials, which are on the move due to the thermal oscillation, are no longer vibrate. The basis for the functioning of gadolinium tetrahidrato acetate is located in the so-called magnetocaloric effect, the property with some materials of cool down or heat up when a variation of magnetic field is applied to them.
