Overview
- Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences report that pressurizing water saturated with ammonium thiocyanate and then rapidly releasing the pressure triggers endothermic dissolution and near-instant cooling.
- Tests cited in the paper show temperature drops of about 30°C at room temperature and up to 50°C in warmer environments within seconds.
- The team reports a theoretical efficiency approaching roughly 80%, positioning the approach as a greener alternative to conventional refrigerants.
- Coverage highlights potential use as a rapid cooling buffer to handle thermal spikes in GPU-dense data centers, with possible applications in HVAC.
- Key uncertainties remain, including the energy required to re-pressurize the solution, possible corrosion and stability issues, and unknown scalability or cost, with no commercial deployments reported.