Evaluation of the magnetocaloric effect from magnetization and heat capacity data

Magnetic refrigeration is based on the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) – the ability of some materials to heat up when magnetized and cool down when removed from the magnetic field. The available techniques for studying the MCE are: (i) direct measurements by monitoring the change in material's temperature during the application or removal of the magnetic field; and (ii) indirect calculations from experimental data of magnetization and/or heat capacity as functions of temperature and magnetic field. In this paper the procedure to evaluate the MCE from magnetization and zero‐field heat capacity data is described. The MCE – isothermal magnetic entropy change (Δ S M ) and adiabatic temperature change (Δ T ad ) – of gadolinium (Gd) obtained by this procedure is presented. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)