Vitaly J. Vodyanoy

The physical nature of "giant" magnetocaloric and electrocaloric effects

Physical nature of "giant" magnetocaloric and electrocaloric effects, MCE and ECE, is explained in terms of the new fundamentals of phase transitions, ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity. It is the latent heat of structural (nucleation-and-growth) phase transitions from a normal crystal state to the orientation-disordered crystal (ODC) state where the constituent particles are engaged in thermal rotation. The ferromagnetism or ferroelectricity of the material provides the capability to trigger the structural phase transition by application, accordingly, of magnetic or electric field.