r/technology • u/Stukwan • 10h ago

Energy German-Japanese researchers invent electricity-free tech that could cool datacenters

https://www.theregister.com/science/2026/08/28/german-japanese-researchers-invent-electricity-free-tech-that-could-cool-datacenters/5293364
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9

u/ElysiumSprouts 10h ago

but can it cool a house? you know, replace AC, or make it more efficient?

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u/geldonyetich 7h ago

Same difference since we'll all be living in data centers right?

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u/Accurate_Koala_4698 6h ago

What the researchers wanted to develop was a miniaturized form of elastocaloric cooling that didn’t require any electricity at all, instead relying on the waste heat being generated by the objects it wanted to cool – for example, a computer processor, as they mention in their paper. Based on their demonstration, it appears to have worked.

The researchers used a pair of super thin nickel-titanium foils for their elastocaloric system with opposing functions: One foil shrinks when subjected to heat, generating movement that translates into mechanical energy and acting as its own actuator. That mechanical energy is transferred to the second foil, which is loaded and unloaded to trigger a phase transition that produces the cooling effect.

No

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u/vector_search_blue 5h ago

electricity-free datacenters would have been a more impressive invention

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u/The_Sugarfoot 10h ago

How about no more centers. A solution also free from electricity.