Multicalorics

Magnetocaloric, electrocaloric, and mechanocaloric effects are nominally reversible thermal changes that occur in magnetically, electrically, and mechanically responsive materials when subjected to changes in applied magnetic, electric, and mechanical field, respectively.1 These caloric effects are typically large near phase transitions and analogous to the pressure-induced thermal changes in fluids that have been exploited for many decades in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. However, caloric effects promise high energy efficiencies without greenhouse gases.2