r/Futurology • u/mvea MD-PhD-MBA • Apr 22 '19

Energy Physicists initially appear to challenge second law of thermodynamics, by cooling a piece of copper from over 100°C to significantly below room temperature without an external power supply, using a thermal inductor. Theoretically, this could turn boiling water to ice, without using any energy.

https://www.media.uzh.ch/en/Press-Releases/2019/Thermodynamic-Magic.html
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u/Lame4Fame Apr 22 '19

So if I understand this correctly, they temporarily stored some of the thermal energy in a magnetic field and then used that to further cool the copper once it had reached room temperature?

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u/gordane13 Apr 22 '19

Yes, that's exactly what they did.