Nickel-titanium alloy can ensure cooling while remaining solid
Tušek notes that there are currently around two billion air conditioning units worldwide, and the IEA expects this number to nearly triple by 2050. This rapid growth, coupled with the fact that many air conditioning units are environmentally harmful, could contribute to a significant environmental crisis.
Cooling relies on the fundamental chemistry of phase changes, where matter shifts between different states—solid, liquid, or gas. In traditional cooling systems, the process of transforming from liquid to gas and back again drives the cooling cycle. However, certain materials, like the nickel-titanium alloy nitinol, can undergo a phase change while remaining in a solid state.