The 'heavyweight' competitor of air conditioners

The device, developed by researchers at the University of California and SRI International, is only 5mm thin but has the same cooling capacity as an air conditioner.

There are a lot of cool wearables on the market today, but very few of them actually make their owners feel cool. And this problem has been solved by engineers from the University of California at Los Angeles and the company SRI International with a device that is only 5 millimeters thin and has the same effect as a mini fridge.

Air conditioning is becoming a thing of the past.

If you’re wondering, “What the hell am I doing carrying a mini fridge around with me?”, imagine being able to enjoy the cool air from a mini air conditioner that fits inside your shoes, hats, or clothes. In addition, it also has the function of cooling your smartphone, tablet, or laptop to prevent overheating, which can be dangerous.

The technology is based on the electrocaloric effect, which is simply the temperature of a material that changes when it is exposed to an electric field. Although it is currently only in the testing phase, it is a very remarkable device. The first prototype is capable of reducing temperature 150 times faster than the best electrocaloric device today.

The device is only 5 millimeters thin but its function is not inferior to a mini fridge.

In addition, its durability is very high, withstanding more than 30,000 power transmission cycles while still operating effectively. Scientists have proven the miraculous use of this device by attaching it to the battery of a Samsung Galaxy G4 that was at 52.5 degrees Celsius because it had to do many heavy tasks. In just 5 short seconds, this "mini air conditioner" reduced the battery temperature to only 44 degrees.

“Developing an air conditioning system that does not use refrigerants, which emit greenhouse gases, is becoming a top priority as the demand for air conditioning in countries around the world continues to grow,” said Roy Kornbluh, a research engineer at SRI.

This device can be used as a cheap refrigerator.

In the future, the team aims to develop new applications for the technology. For example, they believe it could be a powerful tool for making low-cost refrigerators for developing countries. Although methods of heat storage are a hot topic, there are few refrigerator projects—largely because it’s difficult to get enough electricity to run them.

According to Khoahoc.tv