How cool is this? A group of engineers at the University of Minnesota (yeah gophers!) has created a multiferroic alloy, Ni₄₅Co₅Mn₄₀Sn₁₀ to be exact, that “achieves multiferroism by undergoing a highly reversible phase transformation where one solid turns into another solid. During this phase transformation the alloy undergoes changes in its magnetic properties that are exploited in the energy conversion device.”

Got it? Well, think about all the incredible energy applications this material could be used for. A lot of things in our modern civilization produce waste heat that we have no use for. Think heat from car exhaust, or waste heat from power plants, or heat from data centers… the list goes on and on.

The real trick will be turning this breakthrough into a marketable product.