阅读说明：本技术 制冷装置及方法 (Refrigeration device and method ) 是由 保罗·奈泽 于 2019-07-11 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供了一种用于在两个热储之间传递或交换热能、用于将能量从热能转换成另一种形式的能量、或用于将能量从另一种形式的能量转换成热能的装置和方法。可以使用每单位质量的体积力生成装置来修改工作材料的比热容。可以使用诸如压缩机膨胀机的功交换装置来对工作材料做功,或者允许工作材料对功交换装置做功。(An apparatus and method are provided for transferring or exchanging thermal energy between two thermal stores, for converting energy from thermal energy to another form of energy, or for converting energy from another form of energy to thermal energy. The specific heat capacity of the working material may be modified using a volumetric force generating device per unit mass. Work may be performed on the work material using a work exchange device, such as a compressor expander, or the work material may be allowed to perform work on the work exchange device.)

1. An apparatus for interacting with a working material, wherein the apparatus comprises:

A volumetric force generating device configured to artificially modify a specific heat capacity of the working material; and

work exchange device

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the work exchange device comprises a compression device, wherein compression device is configured to perform work on the working material

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the work exchange device comprises an expansion device, wherein expansion device is configured to allow the working material to work the expansion device

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to increase the specific heat capacity of the working material

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to reduce a specific heat capacity of the working material

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the working material comprises solid particles or solid objects

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the working material comprises a fluid, such as a liquid, gas, or gel

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the working material comprises electrons

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the specific heat capacity of the electrons is varied by the volumetric force generation device

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the volumetric force generation device is electromagnetic in its volumetric force properties

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the volumetric force of the volumetric force generating device is gravitational in nature

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the volumetric force generation device is inertial in its volumetric force nature

13. The device of claim 10, wherein the volumetric force generation device is electrical in its volumetric force properties

14. The device of claim 10, wherein the volumetric force generation device is magnetic in its volumetric force properties

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the volumetric force generating device comprises a magnetic field generating device

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein at least a portion of the magnetic field is generated by a current flowing through a conductor

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein at least a portion of the conductor is superconducting

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein at least a portion of the conductor is arranged in a solenoid manner around or within at least a portion of the working material

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein at least a portion of the magnetic field is generated by a permanent magnet

20. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the volumetric force generating device comprises an electric field generating device

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the electric field generating device comprises an electrical conductor configured to accumulate positive or negative charges

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the electric field generating means comprises a positive or negative charge aggregate

23. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the volumetric force generation apparatus comprises an ionization apparatus configured to ionize at least a portion of the working material

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein at least a portion of the energy consumed during ionization can be recovered

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein at least a portion of the energy is recovered by a work exchange device configured to allow the working material to perform work on the work exchange device

26. An apparatus as defined in claim 25, wherein the work exchange device comprises an electrical generator

27. An apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the work exchange means comprises an axial or centrifugal turbine

28. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the work exchange device comprises a piston

29. The device of claim 24, wherein at least a portion of the energy is recovered by a thermoelectric energy conversion device

30. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein at least a portion of the energy is recovered via a photoelectric effect

31. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein at least a portion of the energy is recovered by an energy conversion device configured to convert thermal energy into useful energy

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the useful energy is in the form of electrical energy

33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the useful energy is in the form of mechanical energy

34. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the ionization device is configured to ionize the working material via dielectric barrier discharge

35. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the ionization device is configured to ionize the working material via electromagnetic radiation

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the electromagnetic radiation is generated by a laser

37. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the electromagnetic radiation is generated by an antenna

38. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the ionization device is configured to ionize the working material via a sufficiently strong spatial or temporal gradient in the electric field within at least a portion of the working material

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the spatial gradient in the electric field is provided by an electrically charged electrical conductor having small protrusions into the working material

40. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein at least a portion of the working material is ionized via field desorption ionization

41. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the ionized portion of the working material comprises a non-thermal plasma

42. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the ionized portion of the working material can comprise a net charge

43. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the ionized portion of the working material is a solid material

44. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the volumetric force of the volumetric force generating device is configured to induce inertial volumetric force within the working material by accelerating the working material

45. The device of claim 44, wherein the volumetric force of the volumetric force generating device is configured to induce inertial volumetric force within the working material by rotating the working material about an axis

46. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the acceleration comprises an acceleration associated with translation of the working material

47. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the acceleration comprises an acceleration associated with a rotation of the working material

48. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to electrically polarize at least a portion of the working material

49. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to induce a magnetic dipole on at least a portion of an object within the working material

50. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the specific heat capacity of the object within the working material is modified

51. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the specific heat capacity of a set of objects within the working material is modified

52. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the macro specific heat capacity of the working material is modified

53. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the specific heat capacity of the working material is modified by a positive or negative magnetocaloric effect

54. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the specific heat capacity of the working material is modified by a positive or negative electro-thermal effect

55. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the compression device comprises an axial or centrifugal compressor

56. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the compression device comprises a reciprocating piston

57. The device of claim 2, wherein the compression device comprises a volumetric force generating device

58. The device of claim 57, wherein the volumetric force generation device comprises an electric field generation device

59. The device of claim 57, wherein the volumetric force generation device comprises a magnetic field generation device

60. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the volumetric force generation device comprises a gravitational field generation device

61. The device of claim 57, wherein the volumetric force generation device comprises an inertial volumetric force generation device

62. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the compression apparatus comprises a conduit through which a fluid working material is configured to flow

63. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the conduit is a converging diverging conduit

64. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the conduit is a diverging conduit

65. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the conduit is a converging conduit

66. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is circular in shape

67. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is annular in shape

68. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is elliptical in shape

69. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is rectangular in shape

70. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the expansion device comprises an axial or centrifugal turbine

71. The device of claim 3, wherein the expansion device comprises a reciprocating piston

72. The device of claim 3, wherein the expansion device comprises a volumetric force generating device

73. The device of claim 72, wherein the volumetric force generation device comprises an electric field generation device

74. The device of claim 72, wherein the volumetric force generation device comprises a magnetic field generation device

75. The apparatus of claim 72, wherein the volumetric force generation device comprises a gravitational field generation device

76. The device of claim 72, wherein the volumetric force generation device comprises an inertial volumetric force generation device

77. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the expansion device comprises a conduit through which a fluid working material is configured to flow

78. The device of claim 77, wherein the conduit is a converging-diverging conduit

79. The device of claim 77, wherein the conduit is a diverging conduit

80. The device of claim 77, wherein the conduit is a converging conduit

81. The device of claim 77, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is circular in shape

82. The device of claim 77, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is annular in shape

83. The device of claim 77, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is elliptical in shape

84. The apparatus of claim 77, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is rectangular in shape

85. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the work exchange means comprises:

a compression device, wherein the compression device is configured to perform work on the working material; and

an expansion device, wherein the expansion device is configured to allow the working material to work the expansion device

86. The device of claim 85, wherein the device is configured to compress the working material prior to expanding the working material

87. The device of claim 85, wherein the device is configured to expand the working material prior to compressing the working material

88. The device of claim 85, wherein the expansion device and the compression device are the same device

89. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the working material and another thermal store

90. The device of claim 86, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression, wherein the artificial increase is above a corresponding natural specific heat capacity

91. The device of claim 86, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion, wherein the artificial reduction is below a corresponding natural specific heat capacity

92. The device of claim 86, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression

93. The device of claim 86, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion

94. The device of claim 87, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression, wherein the artificial increase is above a corresponding natural specific heat capacity

95. The device of claim 87, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion, wherein the artificial reduction is below a corresponding natural specific heat capacity

96. The device of claim 87, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression

97. The device of claim 87, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion

98. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the working material is air

99. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the working material is water

100. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the working material is a mobile charge carrier

101. The device of claim 100, wherein the working material is an electron

102. The apparatus of claim 100, wherein the working material is an ion

103. The apparatus of claim 100, wherein the working material is protons

104. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein the expansion device comprises a first expander and a second expander

105. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein the compression device comprises a first compressor and a second compressor

106. The apparatus of claim 104, wherein said compression device comprises a single compressor

107. The apparatus of claim 105, wherein the expansion device comprises a single expander

108. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein the expansion device comprises a single expander

109. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein the compression device comprises a single compressor

110. The apparatus of claim 106, wherein the apparatus is configured to expand the working material in the first expander prior to compressing the working material in the compressor, and is configured to compress the working material in the compressor prior to expanding the working material in the second expander

111. The apparatus of claim 110, wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the working material and another thermal store

112. The device of claim 110, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression, wherein the artificial increase is above a corresponding natural specific heat capacity

113. The device of claim 110, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion, wherein the artificial reduction is below a corresponding natural specific heat capacity

114. The device of claim 110, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression

115. The device of claim 110, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion

116. The apparatus of claim 107, wherein the apparatus is configured to be capable of compressing the working material in the first compressor prior to expanding the working material in the expander, and is configured to be capable of expanding the working material in the expander prior to compressing the working material in the second compressor

117. The apparatus of claim 116, wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the working material and another thermal store

118. The device of claim 116, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression, wherein the artificial increase is above a corresponding natural specific heat capacity

119. The device of claim 116, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion, wherein the artificial reduction is below a corresponding natural specific heat capacity

120. The device of claim 116, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially decrease the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression

121. The device of claim 116, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion

122. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein the expansion device comprises a single expander and the compression device comprises a single compressor, wherein the working material interacts with the compressor and the expander sequentially in time

123. A system comprising two or more of the devices of claim 122, wherein the devices are configured to interact with the working material sequentially in time

124. A system comprising two or more of the devices of claim 86, wherein the devices are configured to interact with the working material sequentially in time

125. A system comprising two or more of the devices of claim 87, wherein the devices are configured to interact with the working material sequentially in time

126. A system comprising two or more of the devices of claim 85, wherein the devices are configured to interact with the working material sequentially in time

127. A system comprising one or more of the devices of claim 86 and one of the devices of claim 110, wherein one or more of the devices of claim 86 are configured to interact with the working material sequentially in time, and wherein one or more of the devices of claim 86 are configured to interact with the working material after interaction of the working material with the first expander of the device of claim 110 and before interaction of the working material with the compressor of the device of claim 110

128. A system comprising one or more of the devices of claim 87 and one of the devices of claim 116, wherein one or more of the devices of claim 87 are configured to interact with the working material sequentially in time, and wherein one or more of the devices of claim 87 are configured to interact with the working material after interaction of the working material with the first compressor of the device of claim 116 and before interaction of the working material with the expander of the device of claim 116

129. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the working material and another thermal store

130. The device of claim 1, wherein heat can be exchanged between the working material and another thermal store

131. The apparatus of claim 130 wherein the another heat store further comprises a material of the same type as the working material

132. The device of claim 86, wherein heat is removable from the working material and transferred to another thermal store, wherein the heat is removable after compression of the working material and before expansion of the working material

133. The device of claim 86, wherein heat can be delivered to the working material from another heat store, wherein the heat can be delivered after compression of the working material and before expansion of the working material

134. The device of claim 87, wherein heat is removable from the working material and transferred to another thermal store, wherein the heat is removable after expansion of the working material and before compression of the working material

135. The device of claim 87, wherein heat can be delivered to the working material from another heat store, wherein the heat can be delivered after expansion of the working material and before compression of the working material

136. The device of claim 132 wherein heat can also be delivered to the working material from another thermal store, wherein the heat can be delivered after expansion of the working material

137. The device of claim 132 wherein heat can also be delivered to the working material from another heat store, wherein the heat can be delivered prior to compression of the working material

138. The device of claim 133 wherein heat is also removable from the working material and transferred to another thermal store, wherein the heat is removable after expansion of the working material

139. The device of claim 133 wherein heat can be removed from another heat store to the working material, wherein the heat can be removed prior to compression of the working material

140. The device of claim 134, wherein heat can also be delivered to the working material from another thermal store, wherein the heat can be delivered after compression of the working material

141. The device of claim 134 wherein heat can also be delivered to the working material from another heat store, wherein the heat can be delivered prior to expansion of the working material

142. The device of claim 135, wherein heat is also removable from the working material and transferred to another thermal store, wherein the heat is removable after compression of the working material

143. The device of claim 135, wherein heat can be removed from another heat store to the working material, wherein the heat can be removed prior to expansion of the working material

144. The device of claim 130, wherein heat can be exchanged via thermal conduction

145. The device of claim 130, wherein heat can be exchanged via natural or forced convection

146. The device of claim 130, wherein heat can be exchanged via thermal radiation

147. The device of claim 130, wherein heat can be exchanged via a heat transfer device

148. The device of claim 130, wherein heat can be exchanged via a temperature amplification device

149. The device of claim 1, wherein the work exchange device is configured to adiabatically compress or expand the working material

150. The device of claim 1, wherein the work exchange device is configured to isothermally compress or expand the working material

151. The device of claim 1, wherein the work exchange device is configured to variably compress or expand the working material

152. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the work exchange apparatus is configured to isobaric compress or expand the working material

153. The device of claim 1, wherein the work exchange device is configured to isovolumetrically compress or expand the working material

154. The device of claim 85 wherein, for a given incremental change in specific volume of the working material, the specific heat capacity during at least a portion of expansion of the working material is less than the specific heat capacity during at least a portion of compression of the working material

155. The device of claim 85 wherein, for a given incremental change in specific volume of the working material, the specific heat capacity during at least a portion of expansion of the working material is greater than the specific heat capacity during at least a portion of compression of the working material

156. The device of claim 154, wherein the device comprises at least one heat exchange device

157. The device of claim 156, wherein the heat exchange device is configured to remove heat from the working material after or during compression of the working material

158. The device of claim 157, wherein the heat exchange device is configured to deliver heat to the working material after or during expansion of the working material

159. The device of claim 157, wherein the amount of heat removed from the working material may be substantially equal to the amount of heat delivered to the working material by the heat exchange device after or during expansion of the working material

160. The device of claim 1, wherein the specific heat capacity is the specific heat capacity at constant pressure.

161. The device of claim 1, wherein the specific heat capacity is the specific heat capacity at a constant volume.

162. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the thermal energy of the working material is converted into work via a work exchange device

163. The device of claim 1, wherein work of the work exchange device is converted to thermal energy of the working material

164. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one heat exchange device configured to allow thermal energy to be transferred from a first thermal store to a second thermal store via the working material

165. The apparatus of claim 164, wherein the first thermal store is at a lower temperature than the second thermal store

166. The apparatus of claim 164, wherein the first thermal store is at a higher temperature than the second thermal store

167. The device of claim 164, wherein the heat exchange means may comprise thermal contact between the first or second thermal store and the working material

168. The device of claim 167 wherein the heat is transferable through the thermal contact via thermal conduction

169. The device of claim 167, wherein the heat can be transferred through the thermal contact via natural or forced convection

170. The device of claim 167 wherein said heat is transferable through said thermal contact via thermal radiation

171. The device of claim 167 wherein said heat can be transferred through said thermal contact via a heat transfer device

172. The device of claim 162 wherein the work exchange device is capable of generating thrust

173. The apparatus of claim 162 wherein the work exchange device is capable of generating electrical power

174. The device of claim 162 wherein the work exchange device is capable of generating torque

175. The apparatus of claim 162, wherein the work exchange device is capable of propelling an aircraft or spacecraft

176. The apparatus of claim 162, wherein the work exchange device is capable of propelling a land vehicle or a marine vessel

177. A method of manipulating a working material, the method comprising: modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material; and interacting with the working material, wherein the interaction can include performing work on the working material or allowing the working material to perform work

178. A method of manipulating a working material, the method comprising: providing one or more of the devices of claim 1; operating one or more of the devices of claim 1

179. A method of manipulating a working material, the method comprising: providing one or more of the devices of claim 1; modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material; and interacting with the working material using the work exchange device, wherein the interaction can include using the work exchange device to perform work on the working material or allowing the working material to perform work on the work exchange device

180. A method of interacting with a working material, the method comprising: artificially modifying the value of the specific heat capacity of the working material with respect to a natural value; and applying work to the working material using a work exchange device, or applying a work exchange device to allow the working material to apply work to the work exchange device

181. The method of claim 180, further comprising providing a volumetric force generation device, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially modify the specific heat capacity of the working material

182. The method of claim 181, further comprising employing the volumetric force generation device to artificially modify a specific heat capacity of a working material

183. The method of claim 180, wherein the method further comprises providing the work exchange device

184. The method of claim 183, wherein the method further comprises applying work to the working material with the work exchange device

185. The method of claim 183, wherein the method further comprises employing the work exchange device to allow the working material to perform work on the work exchange device

186. The method of claim 180, wherein the specific heat capacity is the specific heat capacity at constant pressure.

187. The method of claim 180, wherein the specific heat capacity is the specific heat capacity at constant volume.

188. The method of claim 180, wherein the method comprises converting thermal energy of the working material into work via the work exchange device

189. The method of claim 180, wherein the method comprises converting work of the work exchange device into thermal energy of the working material

190. The method of claim 180, wherein the method comprises providing at least one heat exchange device configured to allow thermal energy to be transferred from a first thermal store to a second thermal store via the working material

191. The method of claim 190, wherein the first thermal store is at a lower temperature than the second thermal store

192. The method of claim 190, wherein the first thermal store is at a higher temperature than the second thermal store

193. The method of claim 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises increasing the specific heat capacity of the working material

194. The method of claim 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises decreasing the specific heat capacity of the working material

195. The method of claim 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises both increasing the specific heat capacity of the working material and decreasing the specific heat capacity of the working material

196. The method of claim 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises ionizing at least a portion of the working material

197. The method of claim 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises subjecting the working material to an electric field

198. The method of claim 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises subjecting the working material to a spatial or temporal electric field gradient

199. The method of claim 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises subjecting the working material to a magnetic field

200. The method of claim 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises subjecting the working material to a spatially or temporally non-uniform magnetic field

201. The method of claim 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises subjecting the working material to a gravitational field

202. The method of claim 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises subjecting the working material to acceleration in an inertial system

203. The method of claim 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises employing a positive or negative magnetocaloric effect

204. The method of claim 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises employing a positive or negative electro-thermal effect

205. The method of claim 180, wherein performing work on the working material with the work exchange device comprises compressing the working material

206. The method of claim 180, wherein employing a work exchange device to allow the working material to perform work on the work exchange device comprises expanding the working material

207. The method of claim 180, wherein modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises changing or altering the specific heat capacity of the working material relative to a value of the specific heat capacity in a natural scene

208. The method of claim 180, further comprising maintaining the value of specific heat capacity at any value other than the natural value of specific heat capacity during application of work to the working material with a work exchange device or during application of a work exchange device to allow the working material to apply work to the work exchange device

209. The method of claim 208, further comprising maintaining the value of specific heat capacity at the natural value of specific heat capacity during application of work to the working material with a work exchange device or during application of a work exchange device to allow the working material to apply work to the work exchange device.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for transferring or exchanging thermal energy, for converting energy from thermal energy to another form of energy, or for converting energy from another form to thermal energy.

Background

When the hot and cold thermal stores are in thermal contact with each other, heat typically flows from the hot thermal store to the cold thermal store. For example, when the tiles are in direct physical contact, i.e., when the surface of a hot tile is placed against the surface of a cold tile, heat will flow from the hot tile to the cold tile. The heat may be transferred, for example, via conduction.

Conventional heat pumps need to perform mechanical work in order to transfer heat from a cold reservoir to a hot reservoir. For example, conventional refrigerators consume power to remove heat from a cold interior and deliver the heat to a warm exterior, such as the room in which the refrigerator is located.

Conventional heat engines do mechanical work by absorbing heat from a heat storage body and transferring the heat to a cold storage body. For example, in a marine steam engine, the working material absorbs heat from a heat storage in a boiler and then does mechanical work, for example, on the steam engine, whereupon the steam transfers the heat in a condenser to a cold storage, such as the ocean.

In conventional magnetic refrigerators, the magnetocaloric working material is exposed to an increased magnetic field strength, resulting in an adiabatic increase of the temperature of the working material, as described by the magnetocaloric effect. As the temperature increases, the working material is thermally coupled to the thermal storage body, and heat is allowed to flow from the working material into the thermal storage body. For example, the heat flow may include heat conduction. The working material is then thermally decoupled from the thermal storage body and the magnetic field strength within the working material is reduced, resulting in an adiabatic reduction of the temperature of the working material, as described by the magnetocaloric effect. The working material is then thermally coupled to the cold storage volume, and heat is allowed to flow from the cold storage volume to the working material. The working material is thermally decoupled from the cold reservoir, thereby completing the thermodynamic cycle. In this way, heat may be removed from the cold storage body and delivered to the hot storage body, thereby inducing refrigeration of the cold storage body.

Conventional solid state electric refrigerators operate in a similar manner to conventional magnetic refrigerators, using an electrothermal effect and an electric field instead of a magnetocaloric effect and a magnetic field.

Disclosure of Invention

As used herein, in the positive magnetocaloric effect, an increase in the magnetic field strength within the working material may increase the temperature of the working material by decreasing the specific heat capacity of the working material. Similarly, in a negative magnetocaloric effect, an increase in the magnetic field strength within the working material may reduce the temperature of the working material by increasing the specific heat capacity of the working material. Unless otherwise specified, the term "specific heat capacity" may refer to specific heat capacity at constant pressure or specific heat capacity at constant volume.

As used herein, in a positive electro-thermal effect, an increase in the electric field strength within the working material may increase the temperature of the working material by decreasing the specific heat capacity of the working material. Similarly, in an electronegative heating effect, an increase in the electric field strength within the working material can reduce the temperature of the working material by increasing the specific heat capacity of the working material.

Generally, according to some embodiments of the present invention, the specific heat capacity of the working material may be modified using a means of generating an external volumetric force per unit mass of BFGA (volumetric force generating means). The volumetric force may be, for example, magnetic, electrical, attractive, or inertial in nature.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the thermodynamic device comprises: a volumetric force generating device configured to modify a specific heat capacity of the working material; and a work exchange device, wherein the work exchange device may include a compressor or an expander (expander), wherein the compressor may perform work on the working material, and wherein the working material may perform work on the expander.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the thermodynamic cycle may include at least one artificial modification of the specific heat capacity of the working material, and at least one compression or expansion of the working material by a compressor or expander. The artificial modification means that the specific heat capacity of the working material is modified to a value above or below the specific heat capacity in a natural scene. In the natural scenario, the working material is considered to be isolated from any BFGA device or any artificial modification of the thermodynamic properties of the working material, and the temperature and density of the working material in the natural scenario are the same as the temperature and density of the working material in the state of artificially modified specific heat capacity. Note that in natural scenarios, the specific heat capacity of the working material is a function of temperature. For example, the specific heat capacity of a diatomic ideal gas increases at greater temperatures, which can be considered a natural modification of the specific heat capacity as opposed to an artificial modification. As used herein, the natural specific heat capacity of a working material is the specific heat capacity in a natural setting.

A compressor is a thermodynamic device configured to perform work on a working material. An expander is a thermodynamic device configured to allow a working material to work the expander. For example, the compressor may comprise an axial or centrifugal compressor, diverging or converging diverging ducts, a reciprocating piston or a volumetric force generating device. For example, the expander may comprise an axial or centrifugal turbine, a converging or diverging duct or duct, a reciprocating piston or a volumetric force generating device.

Some embodiments of the invention include an apparatus configured to enable artificial modification of the specific heat capacity of a working material. In some embodiments, the means configured to enable artificial modification of the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises a BFGA.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the thermal energy may be directly converted into useful energy, such as mechanical work or electricity. For example, the specific heat capacity of the working material may be artificially increased, resulting in a decrease in the temperature of the working material. In this example, the increase is due to an increased level of activation of the BFGA. For example, the reduction in temperature may be due to a negative magnetocaloric effect and an increase in magnetic field strength within at least a portion of the working material. The working material may then be compressed adiabatically by a compressor, such as an axial compressor. After compression, the specific heat capacity of the working material decreases, resulting in an increase in the temperature of the working material. For example, the reduction may be due to a reduction in BFGA activation levels. For example, the reduction may be due to a negative magnetocaloric effect and a reduction in magnetic field strength within at least a portion of the working material. Subsequently, the working material is expanded by an expander such as an axial turbine. For at least a portion of the expansion and compression, the specific heat capacity at a given incremental change in specific volume during the expansion is configured to be less than the specific heat capacity at a given incremental change in specific volume during the compression, such that for at least a portion of the expansion and compression, the temperature of the working material at the given incremental change in specific volume during the expansion is greater than the temperature of the working material at the given incremental change in specific volume during the compression, wherein the portion is referred to as a "focus portion". In the section of interest, the working material may do a net amount of work to the environment, i.e., in this example, the work done by the working material on the expander may be greater than the work done by the compressor on the working material during the section of interest. For the section of interest, the pressure of the working material at a given incremental change in specific volume during expansion may be greater than the pressure of the working material at a given incremental change in specific volume during compression. After expansion, heat may be transferred from an external heat source to the working material, and the working material may return to the original pressure, temperature, and specific heat capacity, completing the thermodynamic cycle. In this simplified example, the heat transferred to the working material is equal to the net work the working material does on the environment. In other embodiments, the thermodynamic cycle may include other types of compression or expansion, such as isothermal, isobaric, or polytropic compression or expansion.

In some embodiments, the specific heat capacity during the portion of interest of expansion and compression at a given pressure may be lower than the natural specific heat capacity. In some embodiments, the specific heat capacity during the noted portion of expansion and compression at a given pressure may be greater than the natural specific heat capacity at a given pressure or temperature. In some embodiments, the specific heat capacity during the contemplated portion of expansion may be substantially equal to the natural specific heat capacity. In some embodiments, the specific heat capacity during the portion of interest of compression may be substantially equal to the natural specific heat capacity. In some embodiments, the specific heat capacity during a portion of interest in expansion may be less than the natural specific heat capacity, and the specific heat capacity during the same portion of interest in compression may be greater than the natural specific heat capacity. For example, the increase in specific heat capacity relative to the reference value may include a negative magnetocaloric effect and an increase in magnetic field strength within the working material, or a positive magnetocaloric effect and a decrease in magnetic field strength within the working material, with the increase and decrease in the field relative to the field associated with the reference value of specific heat capacity unchanged. In another example, the decrease in the specific heat capacity relative to the reference value may include a decrease in an electronegative heating effect and an electric field intensity within the working material, or an increase in an electropositive heating effect and an electric field intensity within the working material. In another example, an increase in the activation level of the BFGA may increase the average potential energy of objects within the working material, thereby increasing the specific heat capacity of the working material.

In some embodiments of the invention, useful energy such as electrical energy or mechanical work may be converted into thermal energy. This is similar to the above case where thermal energy is converted to useful work, except that the specific heat capacity during the portion of interest during compression is lower than the specific heat capacity during the same portion of interest during expansion, such that for the portion of interest, the temperature of the working material at a given incremental change in specific volume during expansion is less than the temperature of the working material at the given incremental change in specific volume during compression. In the section concerned, the external environment may do a net amount of work on the working material, i.e. in this example the work done by the compressor on the working material may be greater than the work done by the working material on the expander. In other words, for the portion of interest, the pressure of the working material at a given incremental change in specific volume during expansion is less than the pressure of the working material at a given incremental change in specific volume during compression. Heat may be transferred from the working material to the environment during a complete thermodynamic cycle. In a simplified example, the amount of heat transferred from the working material to the external environment is equal to the work done on the working material.

According to some embodiments of the invention, thermal energy may be transferred from the cold storage to the heat storage. For example, a working material having an increased specific heat capacity may be adiabatically compressed by a compressor. The specific heat capacity of the working material may then be reduced, resulting in an increase in the temperature of the working material. Heat may then be delivered to the thermal storage body. The working material may then be adiabatically expanded by an expander. After expansion, the specific heat capacity of the working material may be increased, resulting in a decrease in the temperature of the working material. Heat may then be delivered from the cold storage body to the working material, completing the thermodynamic cycle. Note that in this case, the increase and decrease in specific heat capacity is an increase or decrease in specific heat capacity relative to that at a station temporally preceding within the thermodynamic cycle. In this example, the amount of heat delivered to the thermal storage volume is equal in magnitude to the amount of heat extracted from the cold storage volume. In an ideal simplified scenario, there is no net work done by the environment on the work material, where the environment includes a compressor and an expander. Therefore, the cold storage body can be efficiently cooled by transferring heat to the heat storage body.

Embodiments of the present invention may be used in a variety of applications such as, for example, the generation of thrust, the propulsion of aircraft, the propulsion of ships, the propulsion of spacecraft, the propulsion of land vehicles, the generation of electricity, the generation of force, the conversion of useful work into thermal energy, the increase in temperature of working materials, the conversion of thermal energy into useful work, the reduction in temperature of working materials, or the refrigeration of cold storage.

Drawings

FIG. 1 shows a plot of pressure versus specific volume for a subset of embodiments of the present invention for an exemplary method of operation.

Fig. 2A-2H show cross-sectional views of an embodiment of the invention at various points in time for an exemplary method of operation.

Fig. 3A to 3H show cross-sectional views of another embodiment of the present invention at different points in time for an exemplary method of operation.

FIG. 4 shows a plot of pressure versus specific volume for a subset of embodiments of the present invention for an exemplary method of operation.

Fig. 5A-5N show cross-sectional views of an embodiment of the invention at various points in time for an exemplary method of operation.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of some embodiments of the present invention, and a graph of an approximation of a physical parameter as a function of position along the Y-direction.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in fig. 6, as viewed in the Y direction.

Fig. 8 to 9 show cross-sectional views of embodiments of the invention similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 6 when viewed in the Y-direction.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows a plot of pressure versus specific volume for a subset of embodiments of the present invention for an exemplary method of operation.

Fig. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in fig. 10 when viewed in the Y-direction.

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view of some embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view of some embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view of some embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view of some embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 17 is a cross-sectional view of some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 18 shows a plot of pressure versus specific volume for a subset of embodiments of the present invention for an exemplary method of operation.

Detailed Description

As used herein, a "working material" is a thermal medium, i.e., a medium capable of storing or transmitting thermal energy. The working material may comprise a fluid such as a liquid or gas or a solid. For example, thermal energy may be transmitted or stored in the form of phonons. Thermal energy may be transferred or stored in the form of kinetic or potential energy of a single object located within the working material. For example, a portion of the thermal energy may be stored or transmitted in the form of kinetic energy of individual nitrogen or oxygen molecules in air. Thermal energy may also be stored or transported via interatomic potential energy. Thermal energy may also be stored in a single atom or molecule in the form of kinetic or potential energy of an electron of an atom. Vacuum may also be considered a thermal medium because it is capable of transferring and storing thermal energy. For example, energy may be transmitted or stored in the form of photons.

An "object" is a component of a medium, i.e., a constituent part or different element of a working material. The object may be described as a particle such as a crystal, dust particle or aerosol. The object may also be a molecule such as an air molecule, a diatomic nitrogen molecule, a water molecule, or a macromolecule such as buckminsterfullerene (buckminsterfullerene). Other examples of objects are subatomic particles such as electrons, nuclei, neutrons or protons. The object may also be a quasi-particle such as a hole in a semiconductor. The object may also be a wave such as a phonon or photon. The object may also be a collection of smaller objects, as is the case with molecules.

By default, the "baseline condition" is the condition where the working material is at standard pressure and standard temperature and otherwise undisturbed. For example, when the working material is air or water, the characteristic of the working material in the baseline case refers to the characteristic of air or water at a standard pressure and a standard temperature, respectively.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the working material is configured such that the specific heat capacity at a constant volume can be modified by activating a volumetric force generation device or "BFGA". The BFGA is configured to cause a change in an average magnitude or direction of the volumetric force per unit mass relative to a baseline condition, wherein for at least a portion of a plurality of objects located within the working material, the volumetric force per unit mass acts on at least a portion of one object. A part of an object may be a part of a molecule, such as a single electron or a single atom or a single nucleus of a molecule.

Consider the following illustrative example. In a subset of embodiments of the present invention, the BFGA is configured to exert a volumetric force per unit mass on at least a portion of the object. For example, the BFGA may be configured to generate a magnetic field, and the individual objects in the working material may be characterized by a net magnetic dipole. Due to the external magnetic field applied to the working material by the BFGA in this example, the magnetic dipoles of objects in the working material may experience a net magnetic moment and may experience a net magnetic force in embodiments such as subsets of embodiments in which the magnetic field is non-uniform. Note that a magnetic moment may be generated by a magnetic force acting on a part of an object, such as an electron or nucleus of a molecule, where the line of action of the force does not pass through the centroid of the molecule. Thus, typically, the magnetic force acts on at least a portion of the object due to the BFGA. By modifying the strength and morphology of the external magnetic field, the BFGA may modify the volumetric force per unit mass acting on the object in the working material. The term "external magnetic field" as used herein, unless otherwise specified, refers to any magnetic field external to an object or external to a portion of an object. Thus, the external magnetic field may also be generated by adjacent objects or adjacent parts of objects in the magnetized working material. For example, the external magnetic field acting on the electron spins in the working material may originate from the magnetic field generated by adjacent electron spins in the working material. This is described, for example, in the yixin (Ising) model. The external magnetic field acting on the electron spins may also originate from a permanent magnet or a current flowing through a normally conducting wire or superconducting wire, where the wire or permanent magnet may be located outside of, near, or embedded within the working material. The latter form of external field, i.e. the field generated by the magnetic field generating means located outside or embedded in the working material, is referred to as "additional field". The former form of external field, i.e. the field generated by an adjacent object or part of an object in the working material, is referred to as the "intrinsic field". Note that the additional field may induce the intrinsic field, or modify the magnitude of the intrinsic field or the magnetic field strength. For example, the additional magnetic field may induce or modify the strength of an intrinsic magnetic field within the working material, which may modify the magnitude of the total external magnetic field perceived by individual objects in the working material, or modify the average magnitude of the volumetric force per unit mass experienced by the object. The sensing or modification of the intrinsic magnetic field strength may occur paramagnetic, ferromagnetic, or diamagnetic, for example, and may be facilitated by activation of the BFGA, for example.

In other embodiments, the BFGA itself need not exert a force per unit mass on the object. For example, activation of the BFGA may include ionization of at least one object in the medium, which results in modification of the average charge carried by the object, and modification of the average magnitude of interatomic forces acting on the object and neighboring objects. In this example, the activation or effect of the BFGA includes a modification of a characteristic of an environment of the single object and/or a modification of a characteristic of the single object that results in a modification of the volumetric force per unit mass experienced by the single object. Similar to the additional magnetic field and the intrinsic magnetic field acting on the magnetic dipoles described above, activation of the BFGA may generate or modify an additional electric field or an intrinsic electric field acting on the charged or electrically polarized object. In this example, the additional electric field applied by the BFGA may positively or negatively ionize the object, which in turn may modify the intrinsic electric field perceived by the object, or modify the average magnitude of the volumetric force per unit mass experienced by the object. The volumetric force per unit mass may be generated or modified by activation of the BFGA in various ways, as described below.

The BFGA is configured to modify a macroscopic thermodynamic characteristic of the working material, such as a specific heat capacity of the working material. For example, specific heat capacity may refer to specific heat capacity at a constant volume, or specific heat capacity at a constant pressure, or a ratio of specific heat capacities. The ratio of specific heat capacity is the ratio of specific heat capacity at constant pressure to specific heat capacity at constant volume. The specific heat capacity of the working material, e.g. at constant volume, is a function of the number of excited degrees of freedom (excited degrees of freedom) or "EDOF" and the degree of excitation per degree of freedom (degree of excitation) or "DE". By varying the average magnitude or direction of the volumetric force per unit mass acting on at least a portion of at least one object in the working material, the activation of the BFGA may be configured to modify the number of EDOFs of the at least one object in the working material or the DE of the at least one DOF of the at least one object in the working material. In some embodiments, the modification is configured to increase the number of EDOFs. In other embodiments, the modification is configured to reduce the number of EDOFs. In some embodiments, the modification is configured to modify the DE of the DOF, where the modification may be an increase or decrease in the DE. The invention is applicable to any medium or working material that can be considered to comprise different objects, wherein the number of EDOFs or the degree of excitation of at least one EDOF of at least one object within the working material can be modified by an EDOF modification device or by activating or deactivating a BFGA.

For example, as described in quantum mechanics, the excited degree of freedom or "EDOF" is the degree of freedom of an object that cannot be considered a medium or working material that has frozen. For example, a diatomic oxygen molecule at room temperature can be considered to have five EDOFs, including: three EDOFs associated with translational kinetic energy of the movement of the center of mass of a molecule in three directions of the cartesian inertial system, and two EDOFs associated with rotational kinetic energy of the molecule rotating about two axes perpendicular to the long axis of the molecule and to each other. Note that in this case, the other DOF can be considered to be frozen at room temperature. These frozen DOFs include two DOFs associated with vibrational motion of two atoms relative to each other in interatomic potential, namely a translational (kinetic) DOF and a potential (potential) DOF. The potential may be defined as the integral of the value of the volumetric force per unit mass over displacement relative to a specified reference point. Another frozen DOF is a rotational motion DOF associated with rotation about the long axis of the molecule. This is the result of the allowed value of energy associated with the DOF being quantified. An increase in the energy difference between adjacent energy states for a given DOF or a decrease in the temperature of the object may decrease the number of energy states that can be acquired by the object within the given DOF, which may decrease the portion of the average energy of the object associated with the DOF, i.e., decrease the specific heat capacity of the DOF.

Temperatures where the expected energy associated with the DOF is not negligible are denoted herein as "transition temperatures". At temperatures above the transition temperature of the specified DOF, the DOF may be considered EDOF. Note that as the media temperature gradually rises above the transition temperature, the expected energy of the object in a particular DOF will gradually increase. At sufficiently large temperatures above the transition temperature, the expected energy of an object in a particular DOF approaches the energy predicted by the equipartition theorem. Thus, the "degree of excitation" or "DE" may be quantified in terms of the ratio of the actual expected energy of an object in a particular DOF at a particular temperature to the expected thermal energy associated with that DOF as predicted by the equipartition theorem. By default, as used herein, the transition temperature corresponds to a temperature at which the degree of excitation is 0.01. In summary, as used herein, a DOF is considered "frozen" as the temperature increases from zero to the transition temperature of a given DOF. As the temperature is further increased to a level above the transition temperature, the degree of excitation of the DOF gradually increases from zero to a value between zero and one, and DOF is considered EDOF. As the temperature further increases, the degree of excitation approaches one and the average energy in EDOF approaches the energy predicted by the equipartition theorem for the DOF. Note that the equipartition theorem is a theory from classical physics.

Consider the foregoing example, where the object comprises a permanent or induced magnetic dipole, and where activation of the BFGA comprises modification of the magnetic field strength within the working material. For simplicity, consider the following case: the externally applied field is substantially uniform in size and direction throughout the working material. In general, and in other embodiments, the field strength and direction need not be uniform, as long as the field strength is of a magnitude sufficient to achieve the desired DE for a given DOF. In this example, the working material is considered to be a diatomic gas, such as oxygen. As described above, a diatomic gas at room temperature includes about 5 EDOFs associated with three translational DOFs and two rotational DOFs, where the rotations are about two axes perpendicular to the long axis of the molecule and to each other. In this example, the object is a dioxygen molecule.

In this case, the externally applied magnetic field may generate a moment about the centroid of the molecule for which the magnetic dipole or polarisation axis or net magnetic moment vector or net spin of the object is not aligned with the magnetic field lines. This moment is generated by the volumetric force per unit mass acting on a part of the molecule, e.g. electrons and a part of electrons, in a position and orientation that results in a non-uniform line of action of the volumetric force. Since moments act on molecules whose dipole axes are not aligned with the externally applied field, rotation of the dipole axes may be associated with work done against or by the externally applied field, which may change the potential energy of the molecules. This rotation can be expressed in terms of rotation about two axes perpendicular to each other and the dipole axis. Thus, an externally applied electric or magnetic field adds two vibration modes to the DOF of the molecule. In effect, the BFGA is configured to excite two additional rotational potential DOF. The DE of these additional rotational potential DOFs is a function of the molecular geometry and the temperature or average energy of the molecules. For simplicity, consider the following hypothetical case: the magnetic dipole axis comprises a fundamental component parallel to the long axis of the molecule. In this case, the two existing rotational rotations EDOF of the molecule corresponding to rotations around two axes perpendicular to the long axis of the molecule and to each other coincide with two additional rotational potentials DOF generated by a magnetic field applied outside the BFGA. In some embodiments, the strength of the externally applied field may be configured in a manner that increases the DE of the two additional rotational potential DOF to a value greater than the excitation threshold. In other words, the transition temperature of the two rotational potential DOF may be artificially reduced to a value below the current temperature of the working material. The magnetic field generated by the activation of the BFGA may be adjusted to modify the DE of the additional rotational potential DOF in such a way that the additional rotational potential DOF is excited, i.e. becomes EDOF. For example, when the magnetic field strength increases from zero to a non-zero value, activation of the BFGA may cause the overall number of EDOFs for the working material to increase from 5 to 7 in the baseline case. This can increase the specific heat capacity of the working material at a constant volume and at a constant pressure, and reduce the ratio of the specific heat capacities.

In the hypothetical case where the magnetic dipole axis comprises a fundamental component perpendicular to the long axis of the molecule, one of the two additional rotational potential DOF is parallel to the long axis of the molecule and the other additional rotational potential DOF is perpendicular to the long axis of the molecule and the dipole axis. Since the rotational motion DOF, which is parallel to the long axis of the molecule in this example, is in a frozen state, the corresponding additional rotational potential DOF is also in a frozen state. In this case, the activation of the BFGA may be used, for example, to increase the total number of EDOFs of the working material from 5 to 6 in the baseline case, since the magnetic field strength increases from a zero value to a non-zero value.

For some embodiments, an externally applied magnetic field may also be employed to modify the DE or EDOF of existing DOFs. In continuation of the above example, consider the case where the activation of the BFGA is configured in the following manner: the magnetic field strength within the working material is further increased, i.e. beyond the level at which the additional rotational potential DOF is excited, i.e. EDOF. When the magnetic field strength is strong enough, the number of energy states available or reachable by the object for a given mean energy in the working material is reduced, wherein the energy states are in the affected rotational DOF, i.e. the DOF affected by the external magnetic field. The reduction in the number of energy levels available for an object may be considered to be due to an increase in stiffness, an increase in elastic constant, or an increase in natural frequency of the object in the affected DOF in the simplified model. In this simplified model, the object in the affected rotational potential and corresponding dynamic DOF is considered a rotating simple harmonic oscillator. In this model, the magnitude of the energy difference between adjacent energy levels is proportional to the natural frequency, which in turn is proportional to the square root of the elastic constant. For a given object's average total energy, an increase in the magnitude of the energy difference between the adjacent energy levels results in a decrease in the number of average energy levels occupied, available, or achievable in the object in a given DOF. This reduces the average energy of the object in the given DOF, thereby reducing the fraction of the total average energy of the object stored in or associated with the given DOF. Thus, an increase in the field strength of the externally applied magnetic field may reduce the degree of excitation of the affected DOF and, when the magnetic field is strong enough, result in freezing of the affected DOF. This increases the transition temperature of the affected DOF, which may be below or above the temperature of the working material.

In the above example of an external magnetic field applied to a diatomic gas, the magnetic dipole moment of the object is parallel to the long axis. As described above, the magnetic field may increase the total EDOF of the working material from 5 to 7 in the baseline case. However, as the magnetic field is further increased, the DE of the two additional rotational potentials DOF decreases, which also decreases the DE of the respective rotational degrees DOF. With other conditions unchanged, a decrease in DE of the affected DOF results in a decrease in specific heat capacity at constant volume and constant pressure, and increases the ratio of specific heat capacity. With a further increase of the magnetic field, the DE of the EDOF can be reduced to such an extent that the total number of EDOFs of the working material can be reduced from 7 to 3 due to the freezing of the two additional rotational potential DOF and the two corresponding rotational motion DOF.

In another example, consider a working material that is a solid. The specific heat capacity of a solid can be considered to include phonon, electron, magnetic and nuclear contributions. Phonon contribution is due to lattice vibrations of atoms in a solid. In a typical solid working material, the total number of DOF of atoms or molecules in an object, i.e. a solid, includes three flat-motion DOFs and three associated translational potential DOFs. The potential DOF results from interatomic or intermolecular forces between adjacent atoms or molecules acting on the solid working material. At sufficiently high temperatures, all six DOF are typically in an excited state. As the temperature decreases to zero, the DE of these DOF gradually decreases to a value close to zero. The thermal capacity of the nuclei, which may also include translational or rotational motion DOF and translational or rotational potential DOF, also contribute to the total thermal capacity of the solid in the form of the above-described nuclear contributions. The heat capacity of the electrons in the working material also contributes to the total heat capacity of the solid. As shown in the Sommerfeld model, Fermi-Dirac statistics describe the contribution of a fraction of electrons to the heat capacity, which is roughly linear in temperature. The contribution of magnetism to the thermal capacity of the working material may include, for example, electron spin, electron orbital angular momentum, or the spin of atomic nuclei. For example, consider a ferromagnetic material. These materials are ferromagnetic below the curie temperature and paramagnetic above the curie temperature. In such materials, the magnetic contribution to heat capacity typically includes two types of heat capacity. One type is the magnetic heat capacity of spin waves, which include magnons. This contribution to the thermal capacity is not negligible in the ferromagnetic state and generally decreases with decreasing temperature. Another type is the magnetic heat capacity due to the single spin DOF of the magnetic dipole, e.g., the spin of unpaired electrons. The contribution to heat capacity can be estimated by the izod model. In this model, the specific heat capacity of the object is generally symmetric with respect to the curie temperature, and increases at an increasing rate with increasing temperature below the curie temperature, and decreases at a decreasing rate with increasing temperature above the curie temperature. Due to the temperature dependence of these two types of magnetic specific heat capacities, the portion of the specific heat capacity associated with the magnetic spin DOF of an object in a ferromagnetic material is typically largest at the curie temperature. In some embodiments, the average operating temperature of the working material during nominal operation is near the average curie temperature of the working material. In some embodiments, the average operating temperature is within 20% of the average curie temperature. In other embodiments, the average operating temperature may be at any temperature relative to the curie temperature of the working material, as long as activation of the BFGA may result in modification of the specific heat capacity at a constant volume or constant pressure during nominal operation. Note that curie temperature is a function of pressure, and generally increases with increasing pressure. In some embodiments, the average operating temperature is lower than the temperature of an external environment, such as external environment 414. For example, the external environment may be the earth's atmosphere. For example, during nominal operation of one embodiment of the present invention, the temperature of the external environment may be 300 degrees kelvin. To achieve the desired rate of heat flow from the external environment to the working material, the average temperature of the working material may be 200 degrees kelvin. In this case, for some embodiments, the working material may comprise a ferromagnetic material, for example, for which the curie temperature is between 160 degrees kelvin and 240 degrees kelvin. For example, one such material is terbium, which has a curie temperature of about 219 degrees kelvin.

Note that, as described above, the curie temperature of the working material may be modified by doping and by externally applied pressure. Thus, the curie temperature of the working material may be modified to approximately match the average operating temperature of the working material, such that the composition of the magnetic contribution to the specific heat capacity of the working material, which may be modified by activating the BFGA, may be maximized. In other words, the curie temperature may be specially configured by an external pressure bias or by other mechanisms, such as doping, to maximize the change in the specific heat capacity of the working material, and activation of the BFGA may facilitate this change. The pressure bias may be applied by an actuation device, such as actuation device 403, or a separate actuation device configured to modify the average pressure of the working material. The pressure bias may also be applied by a sleeve of working material, such as sleeve device 410. For example, a pressure bias may be applied during the manufacturing process. In this case, the casing may be considered to be pre-stressed or under average stress during nominal operation.

Although the magnetic component of the specific heat capacity is generally large at phase transitions, e.g., transitions between ferromagnetic and paramagnetic, the magnetic component is also generally non-negligible at temperatures above and below the curie temperature. Thus, during nominal operation, the average operating temperature of the working material generally does not have to be close to the average curie temperature of the working material.

Note that at any temperature without a magnetic field, the specific heat capacity of the working material need not include a non-negligible magnetic component. As noted, modification of the activation level of the BFGA may induce a magnetic component of the specific heat capacity of the working material. In other words, the BFGA may contribute a magnetic component to the total thermal specific heat capacity of the working material. A sufficiently strong magnetic field experienced by an object having a magnetic dipole in the working material may also modify the non-magnetic contribution to the specific heat capacity of the working material. For example, as previously described, a sufficiently strong magnetic field may reduce the DE of the rotational dynamics DOF of the object.

Note that selecting a suitable working material for a given application involves theoretical or experimental evaluation of the material performance in that application as a function of many material properties, such as the magnitude of the difference in specific heat capacity at constant volume due to BFGA activation during nominal operation. The selection of a suitable working material is not limited to and does not necessarily include an evaluation of the curie temperature of the material. Note that the magnitude and sign of the magnetocaloric effect of a material at a given temperature is only a rough indication that the working material is suitable for a given application.

In this example, consider an embodiment where the working material is a solid, with a substantial portion of its thermal capacity provided by the magnetic spins of the object, i.e., the electron orbitals, electrons, and nuclei. Examples of such materials are ferromagnetic or paramagnetic materials, such as iron, cobalt or nickel. Such materials are particularly suitable for modifying the specific heat capacity by applying or modifying an external magnetic field via activation of the BFGA. As described in the preceding paragraph, for example, application of an external magnetic field may increase the DE of the rotational potential DOF of a magnetic dipole, e.g., an electron spin. The external magnetic field may also reduce the DE of the rotational potential DOF and any associated rotational dynamics DOF of objects characterized by magnetic dipoles, such as electrons, when the external magnetic field strength is sufficiently strong. As the magnetic field is further increased, this can result in freezing of the affected DOF of these magnetic objects. As mentioned, the aforementioned freezing of the affected DOF by applying a sufficiently strong magnetic field can result in a decrease of the specific heat capacity at constant volume and constant pressure and an increase in the ratio of the specific heat capacity, with other conditions being unchanged.

Note that in general the effect of the application of the external magnetic field is not necessarily limited to rotational dynamics and potential DOFs, but may also be applied to other DOFs, e.g. translational dynamics DOFs of objects such as electrons. The latter may be affected in scenarios where the electron orbital angular momentum is affected by an externally applied magnetic field, as is the case, for example, in diamagnetic materials. In general, activation of the BFGA may be used in a subset of embodiments of the present invention to modify the DE of at least one DOF of the object. Activation of the BFGA may include modification of the intrinsic or additional magnetic field, which may facilitate modification of the average magnitude or direction of the magnetic volumetric force per unit mass acting on the object, which in turn may modify the DE of the affected DOF, which may be used to modify the magnetic component of the specific heat capacity of the working material, and thus modify the total specific heat capacity of the working material.

An example of the aforementioned reduction in the degree of excitation of the DOF of an object in the working material due to a sufficiently strong externally applied magnetic field is also referred to as the magnetocaloric effect. This effect is used for example for adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration. As used herein, "magnetocaloric effect" is used to refer to the modification of the specific heat capacity of a working material at a constant volume due to the modification of the magnetic field within the working material, where a modification may refer to an increase or decrease in the specific heat capacity at a constant volume as the magnetic field strength within the working material increases. As used herein, the positive sign magnetocaloric effect refers to a decrease in specific heat capacity at constant volume associated with an increase in magnetic field strength within the working material. Accordingly, as used herein, a negative sign magnetocaloric effect refers to an increase in specific heat capacity at a constant volume associated with an increase in magnetic field strength within the working material. Note that as used in the literature, the magnetocaloric effect is generally associated with an effect referred to herein as the positive sign magnetocaloric effect.

A variety of working materials may be employed in embodiments of the present invention, wherein the specific heat capacity of the working material is magnetically modified. As noted, the working material may include paramagnetic or ferromagnetic materials as well as diamagnetic or ferrimagnetic materials. In general, any material in which the total or combined specific heat capacity includes a magnetic contribution or component may be employed as the working material or component thereof in a subset of embodiments of the present invention. In the field of magnetic refrigeration, some materials are known whose specific heat capacity includes a large magnetic component. For example, Gd is known₅Si₂Ge₂And other materials such as PrNi₅Magnetocaloric effects are exhibited as described by https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic _ refragation, accessed on day 1, month 20, 2019. As mentioned, ferromagnetic materials such as iron, cobalt, nickel or gadolinium are also suitable working materials. Paramagnetic materials such as lithium, sodium, aluminum, gaseous oxygen, and liquid oxygen, as well as ferromagnetic materials above the curie temperature may also be used as working materials. Diamagnetic materials such as water, graphite, nitrogen or carbon dioxide may also be used as working materials in the presence of a sufficiently strong magnetic field generating means.

Note that the working material need not be a solid as in the previous examples, but may also be a fluid such as a liquid or a gas. For example, the working material may include gaseous lithium or oxygen. In some embodiments, the working material may include an active material and a passivation material. Active materials are defined as materials whose specific heat capacity can be modified by activation of the BFGA. The passivation material is a material that does not need to undergo a change in specific heat capacity by activation of the BFGA. The active material may be embedded in the passivation material. For example, the active material may be small particles, dust particles, aerosols, or crystals. In a subset of the passivation material, the active material may also be dissolved in the passivation material. In some embodiments, for example, the active material may be iron or gadolinium, and the passivating material may be air, water, or a hydrocarbon such as oil.

In some embodiments, solid particles such as dust particles or aerosols may be suspended in a liquid. The working material includes, for example, a gel. In some embodiments, solid particles or liquid particles may be suspended in a gas.

In some embodiments, the active material may bind to other materials, such as ligands, to maintain separation between separate bodies of the active material. This may prevent atoms or molecules of the active material from binding to each other and thereby separating themselves from the passivation material. This may prevent, for example, iron atoms from forming solids and thereby becoming separated from the liquid or gaseous passivation material. Thus, the desired phase of the active material can be maintained relative to a baseline scenario in which the active material is not bound to the ligand, but everything else is constant. For example, the desired phase may be a fluid phase. In some embodiments, a working material that is a fluid may be advantageous for a working material that is a solid. For example, in embodiments employing forced convection, the rate of heat transfer between the working material and a second material, such as an external reservoir, may be increased. In such embodiments, working material may be pumped from an internal chamber, such as internal chamber 401, through a separate heat exchanger between stations 356 and 352 on the thermodynamic cycle shown in fig. 1. Pumping the working material through the heat exchanger with forced convection, using a specially configured heat exchanger, and using an additional solid active material having desirable magnetocaloric properties, may increase the rate of heat transfer between the external environment 414 and the working material. This, in turn, may increase the power generated by such an embodiment, as compared to an embodiment in which the working material comprises only a solid active material, with other conditions remaining unchanged.

Maintaining separation between atoms or molecules of the active material and the passivation material or between adjacent atoms or molecules of the active material using the ligand may also increase the number of DOFs available to the object of the active material. For example, binding of the ligand to the active material may provide the active material with additional rotational dynamics and potential DOF associated with the rotation of the atom or molecule and the orientation of the permanent or induced magnetic dipole of the atom or molecule in the magnetic field when compared to a baseline scenario for the active material. This may further increase the magnitude of the change in the specific heat capacity of the working material in response to BFGA activation.

In addition to the benefits of working materials in the fluid phase described above, there may also be benefits of working materials in the gas phase. The working material in the vapor phase is generally characterized by greater compressibility, which may improve the efficacy or efficiency of an actuation device, such as actuation device 403. For example, increased compressibility may increase the stroke length and decrease the average and peak magnitude of the force on the piston 404 during nominal operation. This may reduce losses due to structural deformation, reduce the amount of bulk material, and reduce wear on the actuation device and other affected components. This may also increase the number of suitable actuator types that may be employed in embodiments of the present invention. More choices of suitable actuator types may increase the efficiency of the actuation device and reduce its complexity and cost.

Fig. 3A-3H show cross-sectional views of an embodiment of the invention at various points in time for an exemplary method of operation.

In fig. 3A to 3H, the inner region 401 includes a working material. As mentioned, the working material may comprise a gas. The working material may also include a liquid. The working material may also comprise a solid. The working material may also comprise a solid embedded in the fluid, such as a solid crystal suspended in a gas or liquid, or atoms of other solid materials bonded to the ligand and thus suspended in the fluid.

In fig. 3A-3H, the working material includes an object that carries a net magnetic dipole during a thermodynamic cycle, such as at least a portion of the thermodynamic cycle shown in fig. 1, during nominal operation. For example, the magnetic dipole of an object, such as a molecule, may include contributions from orbital angular momentum of electrons, spins of electrons, or spins or angular momentum of nuclei.

The magnetic dipole of the object may for example be a permanent dipole. The permanent magnetic dipole can be created by alignment of the electron spins in the molecule, as exemplified by molecules in paramagnetic materials such as gaseous or liquid oxygen molecules, molecules in ferromagnetic materials such as iron, cobalt, or nickel molecules. Note that ferromagnetic materials become paramagnetic above the curie temperature. The permanent magnetic dipole can also be created by the orbital angular momentum of the electrons, as exemplified for singlet oxygen, whose all electron spins are paired.

The magnetic dipole of the object may also be an induced dipole induced by an externally applied magnetic field. Induced magnetic dipoles may result from modification of the orbital angular momentum of electrons by an externally applied magnetic field, as exemplified by molecules in diamagnetic materials such as silicon or germanium. An induced magnetic dipole may also result from modification of the spin alignment of electrons in a molecule by an externally applied magnetic field. Note that the net magnetic dipole of an object, such as a molecule, may include both permanent and inductive components.

In fig. 3A to 3H, the specific heat capacity at a constant volume of the working material includes a non-negligible magnetic component. Typically, the working material is configured in the following manner: wherein the magnitude of the specific heat capacity at a constant volume of the working material is a function of the activation level of the BFGA during at least a portion of the thermodynamic cycle during nominal operation. In other words, during at least a portion of the thermodynamic cycle during nominal operation, modification of the BFGA activation level may be employed to modify the specific heat capacity at a constant volume of the working material.

For simplicity and clarity of description, the working material in fig. 3A to 3H and fig. 1 may include a paramagnetic gas, such as air or oxygen. For simplicity, this gas is considered to be an ideal gas. The principles of the present invention described in the context of fig. 1 and 3A-3H are also applicable to embodiments in which the working material is a liquid or a solid. Such embodiments are within the scope of the present invention and will not be described in further detail. Note that the magnetocaloric properties of the working material may be more pronounced for other working materials than for the working materials described in the context of fig. 3A to 3H and fig. 1. In other words, in practice, other working materials may be better suited for a given application than the working materials described in the context of the examples shown in fig. 3A-3H and fig. 1, as these examples are intended to illustrate the principles of operation. Suitability may be a function of, for example, the extent to which modification of the activation level of the BFGA may be used to modify the specific heat capacity at a constant volume of the working material during at least a portion of a thermodynamic cycle during nominal operation. Other candidates for working materials have been described in the preceding paragraphs or may be readily selected by one of ordinary skill in the art for a given application.

In fig. 3A to 3H, an inner region 401 having an inner surface 402 is cylindrical in shape, having a circular cross section when viewed in a horizontal direction parallel to the edge of the bottom of the page. This direction is also referred to as the X-direction. The Y direction is in the plane of the page and perpendicular to the X direction. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry of the inner region may be elliptical. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry of the inner region may be annular (annular) or ring-shaped (ring-shaped). In other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry may be, for example, square or rectangular. In some such embodiments, the rectangular or square cross-sectional geometry features rounded corners.

The cannula device 410 is configured to provide structural support to the interior chamber 401 and the rest of the embodiment 400. The bulk material 411 of the cannula device 410 may comprise a metal, such as aluminum or iron. The bulk material 411 may also comprise a composite material, such as glass or carbon fibers.

The compression device is configured to be capable of performing work on the working material. In the simplified embodiment 400 shown in fig. 3A to 3H, the compression means is realized by an actuating means 403 comprising a piston head 404 and a piston shaft 407, both having a circular cross-section when viewed in the X-direction. In other embodiments, the compression device may comprise a turbomachine, such as an axial compressor or a centrifugal compressor. In some embodiments, the compression device may further comprise a conduit configured to decelerate and compress a free stream fluid flow.

The expansion device is configured to allow the working material to work on the expansion device. In the simplified example shown in fig. 3A to 3H, the expansion means is also realized by an actuating means 403. In other embodiments, the expansion device may comprise a turbomachine, such as an axial turbine or a centrifugal turbine. In some embodiments, the expansion device may further comprise a conduit configured to accelerate and expand the working material.

Actuation device 403 also includes an actuator 409 configured to perform work on piston shaft 407 and allow piston shaft 407 to perform work on the actuator.

There are a variety of actuator types and architectures that can facilitate relative movement between the piston and the cannula device 410. For example, the actuating device 403 may be a hydraulic actuator. The pumping of the hydraulic fluid may be provided by an electric pump, for example. Such actuators are employed, for example, in the actuation of aircraft control surfaces. The pump may also be configured in the following manner: the expansion of the working material and the corresponding retraction of piston 404 and piston rod 407 into groove 408 and the corresponding displacement of the hydraulic fluid may perform mechanical work on the pump. In other words, in some embodiments, the pump may be configured to operate as a turbine. The pump may be of the reciprocating piston type, for example, in which the crankshaft is driven by a conventional rotating electrical machine, and in which the fluid to be compressed or expanded is hydraulic fluid. When the pump operates as a turbine, the hydraulic fluid may perform work on the crankshaft of the pump, delivering mechanical power to the electric machine. In this mode of operation, the electric machine may operate as a generator, converting the mechanical work performed by the hydraulic fluid on the pump into electrical energy. Thus, actuation device 403 may be configured to perform work on the working material and allow the working material to perform work on actuation device 403. In other embodiments, the aforementioned hydraulic fluid pump may comprise a linear motor as opposed to a rotary motor, wherein the linear motor is configured to sense translational movement of the hydraulic piston shaft. The linear motor may be configured to both work on the shaft and allow the shaft to work on the linear motor. Various other configurations or types of hydraulic actuators may be employed. For example, in contrast to reciprocating piston pumps, the hydraulic pump may be a rotary pump, such as a cycloidal gerotor pump.

In other embodiments, an electric actuator may be employed. For example, the rotary motor may be configured to drive a jack screw, which in turn may sense translational movement of the piston head 404 in the X-direction in a direct drive configuration. The motor may be configured to be capable of performing mechanical work on the piston 404 and thus the working material. The motor may be configured to allow the piston, and thus the working material, to perform work on the motor. In this configuration, the electric machine may be considered to operate as a generator that converts mechanical work into electrical energy. The electrical energy may be stored in an electrical storage unit such as a battery, a capacitor or an inductor. Electrical energy may also be delivered to circuitry such as a microchip, computer, smartphone, or antenna. In some such embodiments, a friction brake or clutch may be employed to prevent rotation of the screw when it is desired that the piston be stationary relative to the sleeve device 410. In some such embodiments, a torsion spring, such as a coil spring, may be employed to exert a torque bias on the screw. The offset may be configured in a manner that maximizes the efficiency of the motor. For example, the average torque of the torsion spring may be configured to substantially match the average total torque that needs to be applied to the screw during nominal operation. This may reduce the average magnitude of torque applied to the screw by the motor during translation of the piston 404, which may improve the efficiency of the motor during nominal operation. In some embodiments, the rotary motor may be mechanically coupled to the shaft 407 of the piston 404 via a gear train. The gear train may comprise, for example, planetary gears. In some embodiments, such as embodiments in which the working material is stiff or low in compressibility, as may be the case with liquid or solid working materials, the gear train may be configured to increase torque and decrease angular velocity of rotation as power of the motor is delivered to the piston head 404. Where the working material is compressible, which may be the case for example of a gaseous working material, the gear train may be configured to reduce torque and increase rotational angular velocity throughout the mechanical coupling from the motor to the shaft 407. The gear train may also be configured to convert rotational motion of the motor into translational motion of the shaft 407. This may be achieved by rotation of a rack and pinion gear set or the jack screw described above, for example.

In another example, a linear motor may be employed to do work on shaft 407 in a direct drive configuration. For example, the shaft 407 may include a Halbach array of permanent magnets and the actuator 409 may include an electromagnet, wherein the electromagnet is configured to induce a magnetic field that translates in the X-direction, thereby inducing a force on the shaft 407 and the piston head 404 along the X-axis and a translation of the shaft 407 and the piston head 404 along the X-axis. The motor may be configured to be capable of performing mechanical work on the piston 404 and thus on the working material. The motor may be configured to allow the piston, and thus the working material, to perform work on the motor. In this configuration, the electric machine may be considered to operate as a generator that converts mechanical work into electrical energy. As in the previously described rotating sleeve, a linear spring may be located in the slot 408 and configured to exert a force on the shaft 407. The linear spring may be configured in a manner that maximizes the average efficiency of the linear motor. For example, the average force applied to the shaft 407 by such a linear spring may be approximately equal to the average total force exerted by the shaft 407 on the piston head 404 during nominal operation. This may reduce the average magnitude of the force applied to the shaft 407 by the linear motor during translation of the piston 404, which may improve the efficiency of the motor during nominal operation.

In some embodiments, the actuation device 403 may comprise a magnetic core solenoid actuator. For example, the armature of the solenoid actuator may be securely connected to the shaft 407 of the piston 404 and configured to do work on the piston during movement of the piston in the negative X direction and allow the piston to do mechanical work on the armature, wherein at least a portion of the mechanical work is converted to magnetic energy and then to electrical energy in the electrical winding of the solenoid by magnetically induced electromotive force.

In other embodiments, the actuator 403 may be a piezoelectric material, such as lead zirconate titanate or PZT. For example, the piezoelectric actuator may be employed in a direct coupling configuration in which the piezoelectric actuator material is in direct contact with the working material. Since the strain generated in a piezoelectric material due to the application of an external electric field is typically small, the direct drive configuration is suitable for a working material that is less compressible or more rigid, as may be the case with a solid or liquid working material. In the direct drive configuration, the piezoelectric material is both the actuator 409 and the piston 404. In other words, the piezoelectric material may occupy a portion of the volume enclosed by the casing 410 and configured to expand and contract due to the applied electric field, thereby performing work on the surrounding working material and allowing the surrounding working material to perform work on the piezoelectric material. Note that in general, the piezoelectric material may occupy any portion of the volume enclosed by the sleeve 410, i.e., the bulk material 411, and may generally take any shape within that volume. Note that the stiffness of the bulk material 411 needs to be large enough to reduce the performance loss due to the elastic structural deformation of the bulk material 411 to an acceptable level. For example, in the case where the piezoelectric material is expanded by increasing an externally applied voltage, work can be performed on the working material. In this case, the electrical energy is converted into mechanical work by the driving of the piezoelectric material. Similarly, by reducing the voltage applied to the piezoelectric material, the working material may be allowed to perform work on the piezoelectric material. In this case, the mechanical work is converted into electrical energy. Electrical energy may be delivered to and recovered from the piezoelectric material by a suitably configured circuit. Such circuits may for example comprise voltage converters, transistors and capacitors, and are for example well known in the field of piezoelectric actuators and piezoelectric energy harvesting.

In other embodiments, the piezoelectric material need not be used in a direct coupling configuration. For example, a translating or rotating piezoelectric motor may be configured to perform work on the working material and allow the working material to perform work on the piezoelectric motor. For example, the motors may be mechanically coupled to the piston 404 in a manner similar to the linear and rotary motors described above. For example, a translating or rotating piezoelectric motor may employ a vibration or resonance effect to induce rotation or translation of a shaft, such as shaft 407 or a shaft of a gear train. In another example, a piezoelectric stepper motor may sense rotation or translation of the shaft. In another example, the piezoelectric actuator may be coupled to the piston 404 via a mechanical linkage, which may be configured to convert a small displacement of the piezoelectric actuator with a large force into a large displacement of the piston in the X direction with a small force. The mechanical linkage may comprise a flexible joint configured to elastically deform, or a sliding or rotating joint, such as a joint comprising ball bearings.

In some embodiments, the actuator 403 may be a piezoelectric material, such as Fe₂O₃Or uranium dioxide. In a piezoelectric material, a change in strain or a change in shape of the piezoelectric material may be produced by modifying a magnetic field within the material. The piezoelectric material may be configured to perform mechanical work on the working material by applying a magnetic field to the piezoelectric material. Similarly, the working material may perform work on the piezoelectric material by deforming the piezoelectric material. For example, deformation of the piezoelectric material may induce a magnetic field, the energy of which may be converted into electrical energy, wherein the conversion may be performed by an electromagnet. Thus, the piezoelectric material may be operated in a similar manner as the piezoelectric material described previously.

In fig. 3A-3H, the BFGA includes a magnetic field generating device 415 configured to modify the magnetic field strength within the interior chamber 401. In the illustrated embodiment, the magnetic field generating means comprises several circular electrical conductors or wires, such as wires 416, 417, 419 or 420. In this simplified embodiment, the magnetic field generating device 415 may also be described as a solenoidal electromagnet. In this embodiment, each wire, such as wire 417, is a superconducting wire. In other embodiments, the wires may be normally conductive, such as copper or silver wires. In such embodiments, the power loss due to the resistance of the current in the wire includes a thermal component, such as a component due to joule heating. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the thermal energy generated within the wires due to electrical resistance within the wires may be transferred to the working material within the interior chamber 401, where the transfer of thermal energy may occur, for example, via thermal conduction. In this way, a portion of the thermal energy generated in the leads of the magnetic field generating device may be delivered to the working material and thus contribute to the total thermal energy delivered to the working material throughout one thermodynamic cycle during nominal operation. When the thermodynamic cycle is configured to convert thermal energy into useful energy, such as electrical or mechanical energy, a portion of the electrical energy lost in the wires of the magnetic field generating device may be recovered. In such embodiments, it may be advantageous for the portion of the bulk material 411 between the conductive wires, such as conductive wire 416, and the working material inside the internal chamber 401 to be characterized by a large thermal conductivity. This may increase the rate of heat flow from the wire to the working material in the internal chamber 401 and thus reduce the rate of heat flow from the wire to the external environment 414. Thus, the portion of electrical energy lost due to electrical resistance in a lead, such as lead 417 or lead 420, which may be delivered to a working material and recovered by embodiment 400, may be increased. In some embodiments, such as embodiments in which the magnetic field generating means comprises a superconducting electrical conductor, it may be desirable to maintain the temperature of the electrical conductor below a superconducting transition temperature, which may also be referred to in this context as a "critical temperature". In such embodiments, the apparatus 400 may be configured in a manner wherein the maximum temperature of the working material throughout the thermodynamic cycle during nominal operation is below the critical temperature of the superconductor. In some embodiments, it is sufficient to have the average temperature of the working material throughout the thermodynamic cycle during nominal operation be below the critical temperature. In this manner, the working material and associated thermodynamic cycle may be configured to maintain the temperature of the superconductor below a critical temperature. Thus, the working material may be used as a heat sink or a refrigerator for the electrical conductor. For example, the average temperature of the working material may be 100 degrees Kelvin throughout the thermodynamic cycle during nominal operation, and the electrical conductor may be made from a material such as Bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide or BSCCO, a superconductor Bi-2223 characterized by a critical temperature of about 108 degrees Kelvin, as described by https:// enwikipedia/wiki/Bismuth _ conductor _ calcium _ copper _ oxide, accessed 4, 8, 2019.

In other embodiments, the magnetic field generating means may comprise a permanent magnet. For example, the magnetic field within the working material within inner chamber 401 may be modified by changing the closest separation distance between the permanent magnet of the magnetic field generating device and the working material. To this end, the permanent magnet may be translated or rotated in such a way that said separation distance can be modified. Consider the following example, in which the magnetic field generating means comprises an array of permanent magnets arranged in a circumferential manner around the inner chamber 401. The magnetic field generating means and the bulk material 411 are configured in such a way that the magnetic field of the magnetic field generating means can be extended into the working material in the inner chamber 401 when needed. For example, the permanent magnets may be arranged in a halbach array around the interior chamber 401. The magnetic field generating means may further comprise an annular groove in which the annular array of permanent magnets is movable in the X-direction. The actuator may be configured to move the permanent magnet array through the slot in a positive or negative X direction. The slots may have a sufficient length such that the array of permanent magnets may be moved a sufficient distance from the inner chamber 401 such that the magnetic field strength within the working material in the inner chamber 401 may be modified by a desired amount. For example, when it is desired to reduce the magnetic field strength within the working material to a minimum, the actuator may move the permanent magnet array through the annular slot in the positive X-direction, i.e., to the right of the page, to a position corresponding to the maximum achievable distance from the working material inside the inner chamber 401. In other embodiments, the permanent magnet may move in the negative X direction. The maximum distance is provided, for example, by dimensional constraints of embodiment 400 in the X-direction. When the magnetic field strength within the desired working material is increased to a maximum, the permanent magnet array may be moved by the actuator in the negative X-direction through the annular groove to a position immediately adjacent to the interior chamber 401, i.e., to a position coincident with a wire, such as wire 416 or wire 417 or wire 420, of the magnetic field generating device 415 shown in fig. 3A-3H. Thus, by moving the array of permanent magnets relative to the working material in the inner chamber 401, the magnetic field strength within the working material may be modified, adjusted, and controlled. The use of permanent magnets can reduce electrical losses associated with magnetic field generation compared to normally conducting electromagnets and for a given and feasible magnetic field strength. Note that in this comparison, the magnetic field in the electromagnet is generated via current flowing through an electrical conductor with a non-zero resistivity.

In some embodiments where the magnetic field generating means comprises a permanent magnet, several identical devices, such as device 400, may be arranged in an array. For example, the first device may be configured in a similar manner to the device shown in fig. 3A, wherein the magnetic field generating means comprises an annular array of permanent magnets arranged in an annular groove within the bulk material 411 and surrounding the cylindrical inner chamber 401. The magnetic field generating means comprising permanent magnets described above may be considered to replace the solenoid coils or wires such as wire 417 or wire 420 of the magnetic field generating means 415 shown in fig. 3A to 3H. The at least one second device may be configured substantially identical to the first device and may be positioned adjacent to the first device in the positive X-direction, wherein the second device is a mirror image of the first device about the YZ-plane, wherein the plane is at an interface between the second device and the first device. In other words, the actuation device 409 of the first device is located in the vicinity of the actuation device of the second device. The annular slot comprising the annular array of permanent magnets may extend continuously from the first device to the second device, thereby allowing the actuator to move the array of permanent magnets from the first device to the second device through the slot. The thermodynamic cycles of the first device and the second device may be configured to be out of phase by half a cycle or 180 degrees. In this manner, a desired reduction in magnetic field strength in the interior chamber of the first device and sliding of the permanent magnet array in the positive X-direction away from the interior chamber of the first device toward the interior chamber of the second device may be coordinated with a desired increase in magnetic field strength within the interior chamber of the second device. Similarly, a reduction in the desired magnetic field strength in the internal chamber of the second device may be coordinated in this manner to coincide with an increase in the desired magnetic field strength in the internal chamber of the first device. The power density of embodiments of the present invention, i.e., the combination of the first device and the second device, may be increased by allowing the permanent magnet array to perform a useful function, i.e., increasing the magnetic field strength within the interior chamber of the second device, for the entire period of time within the thermodynamic cycle of the first device during which the magnetic field strength within the interior chamber of the first device is intended to be reduced or minimized. Power density may refer to the net work that an embodiment of the present invention does per unit time and per unit volume of the embodiment.

In some such embodiments, the shaft 407 of the actuator 409 of the first device may be rigidly connected to and indistinguishable from a corresponding shaft of the second device. In other words, the actuator 409 may be configured to actuate both the piston head 404 of the first device and the piston head of the second device. Note that the thermodynamic cycles of the first and second devices are 180 degrees out of phase, such that compression of the working material in the internal chamber 401 of the first device may coincide with expansion of the working material in the internal chamber of the second device, and vice versa. The mechanical coupling between the actuators of the first and second devices may provide a mechanical bias to a drive element of the actuator, such as shaft 407. This biasing may perform a similar purpose to the mechanical biasing provided by the linear and torsion springs described above, i.e. improving the efficiency of the actuator during nominal operation and reducing wear on the actuating elements.

In other such embodiments, the actuator of the first device need not share common actuation components, such as a drive shaft, with the actuator of the second device. For example, this may be the case where mechanical coupling of the actuating components of the actuator is not feasible, as is the case where a piezoelectric actuator is coupled directly to the working material in the internal chamber of the associated first and second devices. In such embodiments, the bulk material 411 may form a separation wall between the first device and the second device to provide a mechanical basis for the associated actuation device.

In other embodiments, the array of permanent magnets may be translated relative to the internal chamber 401 of the first device in a Y direction as opposed to the X direction. For example, the cross section of the inner area 401 in the X direction may be rectangular or square in shape. In some embodiments, the array of permanent magnets may be arranged on all four sides. Consider a scenario in which an array of permanent magnets is arranged on each of only two sides of a rectangular cross-section, for example on the sides facing the positive and negative Y-directions. When it is desired to reduce the magnetic field strength within the inner region 401, the array of permanent magnets on the side of the sleeve 410 facing the positive Y-direction may be moved in the positive Y-direction by the actuator, and the array of permanent magnets on the side of the sleeve 410 facing the negative Y-direction may be moved in the negative Y-direction by the actuator. The concomitant increase in separation distance between the working material and the permanent magnet in the inner region may reduce the magnetic field strength inside the working material, as desired. Similarly, when it is desired to increase the magnetic field strength within the inner region 401, the array of permanent magnets on the side of the sleeve 410 facing the positive Y direction may be moved in the negative Y direction by the actuator, and the array of permanent magnets on the side of the sleeve 410 facing the negative Y direction may be moved in the positive Y direction by the actuator. The concomitant reduction in separation distance between the working material and the permanent magnet in the inner region may increase the magnetic field strength inside the working material, as desired. In this way, the magnetic field generating means may change the position of the permanent magnet relative to the working material in the inner region, thereby modifying the strength of the magnetic field within the working material.

In fig. 3A to 3H, a single circular electrical conductor, such as a wire 416, 417 or 420, is shown in cross-section and embedded in the bulk material 411. As mentioned, the electrical conductors shown in cross-section in fig. 3A-3H form a solenoid. In other words, they are electrically connected in series and form an annular spiral around the cylindrical inner chamber 401 and the working material contained therein. The magnetic susceptibility of the bulk material 411 is configured to allow most of the magnetic field lines of the solenoid 415 to pass through the working material in the internal chamber 401. For example, the magnetic reluctance of the bulk material 411 may be large enough compared to the magnetic reluctance of the working material such that most of the magnetic field lines pass through the working material. In the case where the bulk material 411 is electrically conductive, as is the case with aluminum, the electrical conductor may be electrically insulated from the bulk material 411 by an insulating material such as plastic or glass. The electrical conductors are electrically insulated from adjacent electrical conductors in a similar manner to maintain the solenoid arrangement of the conductors. As is the case with magnetic fields typically generated by solenoids, in most working materials in the inner region 401, when current flows through the magnetic field generating device 415, the magnetic field lines include a fundamental component in the X-direction. Note that the direction of the magnetic field within the working material is substantially independent of the operation or performance of the illustrated embodiment, as long as the magnetic field strength within the working material is sufficiently large to modify the specific heat capacity of the working material.

The electrical circuit and power source are electrically connected to electrical conductors in the solenoid of the magnetic field generating device 415. The power source may include a battery, a capacitor, or a generator. The magnetic field generating means may also be supplied with electrical energy by the actuating means of an embodiment of the invention, for example the actuating means 403 of the same embodiment 400 comprising said magnetic field generating means. When it is desired to increase the magnetic field strength within the working material in the inner region 401, the circuitry of the solenoid connected to the magnetic field generating device 415 may be configured to increase the magnitude of the current flowing through the electrical conductor of the solenoid, such as conductor 416. This may increase the strength of the magnetic field generated by the solenoid and the magnetic field generating means, and thus the strength of the magnetic field within the working material. Similarly, when it is desired to reduce the strength of the magnetic field within the working material in the inner region 401, the circuitry of the solenoid connected to the magnetic field generating device 415 may be configured to reduce the magnitude of the current flowing through the electrical conductor of the solenoid, such as conductor 416.

In other embodiments, the magnetic field generating means may comprise an electromagnet comprising an electrical conductor wound around a paramagnetic or ferromagnetic material. Such electromagnets are found, for example, in conventional brushless dc motors. For example, the paramagnetic or ferromagnetic material may be soft iron. Paramagnetic or ferromagnetic materials may be used to greatly amplify the strength of the magnetic field generated by the electromagnet, as compared to scenarios where the electromagnet does not include such materials. In some such embodiments, ferromagnetic or paramagnetic cores and electrical conductors wrapped around these cores may be configured to generate a magnetic circuit around the inner region 401, where the magnetic circuit may be configured in a similar manner to the magnetic circuit in a halbach array. In other words, the arrangement of the magnetic poles of the permanent magnets in a conventional halbach array may be replicated by the arrangement of the magnetic poles of an electromagnet comprising a solenoid with a paramagnetic or ferromagnetic core. In this way, the magnetic field strength within the working material can be maximized for a given total magnetic flux in the magnetic circuit. In this manner, the magnetic field may also be contained within the outer surface 413 of the apparatus 400 or shielded from the external environment 414, which may reduce the interfering effects on other electrical devices, such as sensors, located in the external environment 414 near the embodiment 400.

The operating principle of a subset of the embodiments is described by the thermodynamic cycle shown in fig. 1 and the configuration of the embodiment 400 shown in fig. 3A to 3H.

In fig. 3A, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material at station 352 in fig. 1. The actuator 403 is in a fully retracted position and the working material is in a state of maximum volume, wherein the volume is provided by the configuration and dimensions of the inner region 401. In this example, the magnetic field generating device is configured to minimize the magnetic field strength within the working material at station 352. For the embodiment 400 shown in fig. 3A-3H, this corresponds to zero or negligible current flowing through the electrical conductors of the solenoid of the magnetic field generating device 415, resulting in zero or negligible additional magnetic field strength throughout the working material. This configuration of the magnetic field generating device 415 is also referred to as an "off configuration.

In fig. 3B, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material between stations 352 and 353 in fig. 1. Between stations 352 and 353, the work material is compressed by actuator 403, thereby performing mechanical work on the work material, as indicated by the label "WIN" in fig. 3B. Movement of the inner surface 405 of the piston 404 reduces the volume of the inner chamber 401, thereby compressing the working material contained therein. In this particular example, the working material is compressed adiabatically, i.e., without heat exchange with the external environment 414. The magnetic field of the magnetic field generating means is kept in the off-configuration throughout the compression process. In fig. 1, for simplicity, the compression of the working material is modeled as the compression of an ideal gas. In other embodiments, the compression of the working material may also be, for example, isothermal or isobaric. Note that compression refers to a reduction in the specific volume of the working material. In some embodiments, the pressure may also be reduced during compression of the working material. In some embodiments, heat may be removed from the working material during compression, for example, where heat may be removed via thermal conduction. In other embodiments, heat may be added to the working material during compression.

In fig. 3C, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material at station 353 in fig. 1. The actuator 403 is in a fully extended position and the working material is in a minimum volume state, where the minimum volume is provided by the stroke length of the actuator 403 and the maximum volume of the inner region 401. At station 353, the magnetic field of the magnetic field generating device is in an off configuration.

In fig. 3D, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material at station 354 in fig. 1. In this example, the volume of working material at station 354 and station 353 is the same. Between stations 353 and 354, the magnetic field generating device is configured to increase the magnetic field strength within the working material to a desired value, which is represented as an "activation value" greater than zero. For embodiment 400, this corresponds to a non-zero current flowing through the electrical conductors of the solenoid of magnetic field generating device 415, resulting in a non-zero additional magnetic field strength throughout the working material. This configuration of the magnetic field generating device 415 is also referred to as an "on" configuration. In this example, the magnitude of the current or the magnetic field strength within the working material may be considered the "activation level" of the BFGA, i.e., in this case the "activation level" of the magnetic field generating device 415. As shown, current flows through the magnetic field generating device 415, where current flows into the page through electrical conductors located in the positive Y-direction of the centroid of the cylindrical inner region 401 and flows out of the page through electrical conductors located in the negative Y-direction of the centroid. In other embodiments, the current may flow in the other direction. In this example, an increase in the magnetic field strength within the working material between stations 353 and 354 correlates to a positive magnetocaloric effect, resulting in a decrease in the specific heat capacity of the working material at a constant volume and a corresponding increase in the temperature and pressure of the working material, as shown in FIG. 1. As previously described, in a simplified model, the pairing of the dynamic and potential DOFs of an object can be modeled as a harmonic oscillator. An increase in the magnetic field strength in the working material can increase the stiffness of the magnetically influenced resonator for a given displacement or angle of the body relative to the equilibrium position by increasing the magnitude of the magnetic volume force or torque per unit mass acting on the body of working material. This may increase the spacing between energy levels on the energy spectrum of the affected DOF and reduce the number of energy levels achievable by an object of a given mean energy within the affected DOF. In this way, an increase in the magnetic field strength in the working material may result in a net decrease in DE of the affected DOF of the object in the working material. For example, as previously described, when the magnetic field strength is sufficiently strong, several previously activated DOFs, such as the rotational potential or the dynamic DOF of the object, may be frozen by activating the BFGA, i.e. the magnetic field generating means 415. A decrease in DE of the DOF of the object of working material decreases the specific heat capacity of the constant volume of working material.

In the simplified exemplary embodiment shown in fig. 3A to 3H, the reduction in specific heat capacity at constant volume occurs adiabatically, i.e. without heat exchange between the working material and the external environment. As noted, a decrease in specific heat capacity for a constant volume correlates with an increase in the temperature of the working material. Note that the increase in temperature occurs at a pressure greater than the pressure at station 352. The temperature increase at higher pressures can be considered similar to the temperature increase at higher pressures that occurs, for example, in the Otto (Otto) cycle, Diesel (Diesel) cycle, or Brayton (Brayton) cycle. The increase in temperature includes the transfer of heat within the working material, where the transfer of heat in the working material is from each DOF of the object that experiences a decrease in its degree of excitation to all other DOFs of the object. In other words, as a result of the activation of the BFGA, i.e. the magnetic field generating means 415 in this case, embodiments of the present invention are able to transfer heat to the degree of freedom of the objects in the working material without the need for a separate heat store at a sufficiently large temperature. Note that in a conventional thermodynamic cycle, which performs work, there is a source of heat delivered to the working material, such as heat generated by the combustion of fuel or coal. In the thermodynamic cycle employed by embodiments of the present invention, the heat source is provided by the working material itself, i.e., by the energy stored in the working material in the DOF of the object that experiences a decrease in DE due to activation of the BFGA. For example, the transfer of heat from the DOF experiencing a decrease in DE to other DOFs may be facilitated by photons emitted due to the interaction between the object within the working material and the magnetic field. Energy may also be transferred by other energy carriers or energy transfer mechanisms, such as by collisions between objects, phonons, lattice vibrations, or magnons.

In other embodiments, the reduction in specific heat capacity at constant volume or specific heat capacity at constant pressure may also occur at constant pressure, as is the case with a brayton cycle. In other embodiments, the reduction in specific heat capacity may also include changes in pressure as well as changes in volume. In some embodiments, the change in specific heat capacity need not occur adiabatically, but may include heat flow into or out of the working material, so long as a thermodynamic cycle, such as that shown in FIG. 1, performs nominally, where nominal performance may refer to a cycle that generates an acceptable or desired amount of work, such as when used as an engine or net positive work generating device.

In fig. 3E, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material between stations 354 and 355 in fig. 1. Between stations 354 and 355, the working material is expanding and performing work on actuation device 403, as indicated by label "WOUT" in fig. 3E. Movement of the inner surface 405 of the piston 404 increases the volume of the inner chamber 401, which expands the working material contained therein. In this particular example, the working material is expanded adiabatically, i.e., without heat exchange with the external environment 414. The magnetic field of the magnetic field generating means is maintained in the switched-on configuration throughout the expansion process. In fig. 1, for simplicity, the expansion of the working material is modeled as the expansion of an ideal gas. In some embodiments, the magnetic field strength within the working material may be modified throughout the expansion process so as to maintain or generate a desired specific heat capacity at a constant volume of the working material throughout the expansion process. As described in the context of compression in fig. 3B, the expansion shown in fig. 3E need not be adiabatic, but may be isothermal or variable, or have other suitable forms, with suitability determined by the performance level and efficiency of a suitable thermodynamic cycle.

In fig. 3F, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material at station 355 in fig. 1. The actuator 403 is in the fully retracted position and the volume of working material is equal to the volume at station 352. At station 355, the magnetic field of the magnetic field generating device is in the on configuration. Note that because the specific heat capacity of the working material at constant volume is less throughout the expansion between stations 354 and 355 than throughout the compression between stations 352 and 353, the changes in temperature and pressure during expansion are greater in magnitude than in the scenario where the specific heat capacity at constant volume is the same during both compression and expansion.

In fig. 3G, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material at station 356 in fig. 1. In this example, the volume of working material at state 356 and state 355 is the same. Between stations 355 and 356, the magnetic field generating device is configured to reduce the magnetic field strength within the working material back to the off configuration, i.e., the configuration at station 353 or 352. As mentioned, in the simplified example shown, the off configuration corresponds to a configuration in which no current flows through the electrical conductors of the magnetic field generating means 415. Between stations 355 and 356, the specific heat capacity of the working material at constant volume is reduced and returned to the value of the specific heat capacity at constant volume at stations 352 and 353. Thus, the temperature and pressure at station 356 is lower than the temperature and pressure at station 355. The temperature decrease is due to an increase in DE of the DOF of the object in the working material, and a corresponding flow of heat from other DOFs into the DOF experiencing the DE increase. This process can be considered the reverse of the reduction in specific heat capacity at a constant volume between stations 353 and 354. Note that the pressure and therefore the temperature at station 356 in fig. 1 is also lower than the pressure and therefore the temperature at station 352 in fig. 1.

In fig. 3H, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material between stations 356 and 352 in fig. 1. In this example, the volume of working material at stations 356 and 352 is the same. Between the station 356 and the station 352, the working material is heated by the external environment 414 via a hot stream "QIN" to match the temperature of the working material at the completion of the heating process to the temperature at the station 352. For example, a heat stream QIN is delivered from external environment 414 to the working material in inner chamber 401 via thermal conduction through bulk material 411. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the bulk material 411 may be configured to feature a greater thermal conductivity to facilitate a sufficiently large rate of heat flow between the external environment 414 and the working material. Note that the rate of heat flow is also a function of the interface area between the external environment 414 and the working material and the temperature difference between the external environment 414 and the working material. Thus, to maximize the rate of heat flow between the external environment 414 and the working material, the thermal contact area between the external environment 414 and the working material and the temperature differential between the external environment 414 and the working material may be maximized. For example, the temperature of the working material may be 90 degrees kelvin and the temperature of the external environment may be 300 degrees kelvin. Where the interior chamber 401 is rectangular in shape, heat transfer between the working material and the external environment 414 may be configured to occur across the planar side of the rectangle characterized by one of the largest surface areas. As noted, in some embodiments, the working material may be pumped through a separate heat exchanger specifically configured to facilitate a rate of large heat flow between the external environment 414 and the working material via forced convection. In other embodiments, such as embodiments where the working material is solid and not conducive to pumping, a dedicated thermal fluid and separate heat exchanger may be employed to increase the rate of heat transfer between the external environment 414 and the working material via forced convection. In other such embodiments, a thermal material in the external environment, such as water in a water reservoir in the external environment 414 or air in the atmosphere in the external environment 414, may be naturally pumped by the flow through the heat exchanger to increase the rate of heat transfer between the external environment 414 and the working material via forced or natural convection. In some embodiments, the heat transfer between the working material and the external environment 414 may include thermal radiation.

In the ideal case shown in fig. 1 and 3A-3H, the working material does a net mechanical work on the actuator 403. In other words, the size of "WOUT" is greater than the size of "WIN". It is also evident from fig. 1 that there is a net area enclosed by the clockwise thermodynamic cycle. The actuator is configured in such a way that a sufficiently large portion of the WOUT is recovered and converted into useful energy, e.g., electrical energy, such that the total energy consumed by the actuator is less than the total energy delivered in a useful form by the actuator. The energy source of the net mechanical work performed by the working material is the heat that the working material absorbs from the external environment 414 during the thermodynamic cycle during nominal steady operation. For the particular cycle shown in fig. 1, the net mechanical work performed by the working material in one thermodynamic cycle is equal to the net heat absorbed by the working material between stations 356 and 352.

In some embodiments, external environment 414 includes, for example, the earth's atmosphere. The external environment 414 may also be a separate thermal store. The external environment 414 may, for example, comprise an interior chamber of a refrigerator. In some implementations, the external environment 414 may include electronic circuitry. For example, heat generated by the electrical circuit may be delivered from the external environment 414 to the inner region 401 through the outer surface 413, through the bulk material 411, and through the inner surface 402 via thermal conduction. Heat may be generated via resistive losses in the electronic circuit, such as in the case of joule heating. In such applications, embodiments such as the embodiments shown in fig. 3A-3H may be employed, for example, to cool a computer chip or microprocessor such as a microprocessor in a computer or smart phone. In some embodiments, the mechanical power extracted from the working material by the actuation device 403 may be converted to electrical power via the actuation device 403 or a separate generator, and in some embodiments used to power electronic circuitry such as a smartphone or computer. In such applications, embodiments of the present invention may be considered to operate as a conventional battery. Devices configured in accordance with the present invention, such as device 400, may be considered thermal batteries, in which thermal energy within the working material, as well as any other material in thermal contact with the working material, may be converted into useful electrical work. Thus, embodiments of the present invention may also be considered for applications involving power generation or consumption.

For example, embodiments of the present invention may also be used to transfer heat from a cold storage to a hot storage while consuming a smaller amount of work than an equivalent vapor compression chiller. In some such embodiments, the thermodynamic cycle is the same as that shown in fig. 1 except that: heat "QOUT" is removed from the working material at station 354 prior to adiabatic expansion of the working material but after reducing the specific heat capacity at constant volume by modifying the activation level of the BFGA. Due to the removal of heat QOUT, the pressure at the station prior to expansion, designated as station 354B, is lower than the pressure at station 354, but greater than the pressure at station 353. In such embodiments, the amount of work extracted by actuator 403 during adiabatic expansion between station 354B and new station 355 is equal in magnitude to the amount of work consumed by actuator 403 during adiabatic compression between station 352 and station 353. In other words, WIN is equal to WOUT and does not produce net mechanical work through the actuation device 403, or does not produce net mechanical work or no net mechanical work through the work material. To this end, the pressure at the new station 355 is lower than the pressure at the station 352. In other words, in the case of an ideal gas, the pressure of adiabatic compression and adiabatic expansion intersects the specific volume line. Thus, according to the first law of thermodynamics, all of the heat QIN that the working material absorbs from the cold store at the low temperature of station 352-where heat is absorbed between new station 356 and station 352-can be delivered through the working material to the hot store at the high temperature of station 354B-where heat is delivered between stations 354 and 354B. Thus, heat can be transferred from the cold reservoir to the heat reservoir without any external net mechanical work. Accordingly, such embodiments of the invention may be considered to be temperature amplifying devices or heat transfer devices. Thus, embodiments of the present invention may be used in applications requiring refrigeration or transferring heat from a cold storage to a hot storage. In some embodiments of the invention, the heat QOUT may also be delivered to a conventional heat engine configured to convert at least a portion of the heat QOUT into useful mechanical or electrical work. Examples of conventional heat engines are e.g. aircraft ramjet engines, aircraft turbofan engines, helicopter turboshaft engines or internal combustion engines of cars, trucks, ships or trains. In such embodiments, for example, the aforementioned thermal storage body that receives heat QOUT from the working material may be considered a combustion chamber of the aforementioned thermal engine. Heat QOUT may be exchanged between the working material and the thermal or cold storage, e.g., via thermal conduction, forced or natural convection, or radiation. In some embodiments, as described herein, all or a significant portion of the heat QOUT may also be converted to mechanical work by another embodiment of the present invention configured to convert thermal energy to useful mechanical or electrical work.

In other embodiments, at least a portion of the heat QOUT may also be removed from the working material prior to or during the reduction in specific heat capacity at a constant volume. In other embodiments, at least a portion of the QIN can be delivered to the working material prior to or during an increase in specific heat capacity at a constant volume.

In other embodiments, heat may be transferred from the heat reservoir to the cold reservoir using a thermodynamic cycle of the type described in the preceding paragraph, as opposed to from the cold reservoir to the heat reservoir. In some applications, and for some embodiments, for example, such thermodynamic cycles may be employed to transfer heat from a hot storage volume to a cold storage volume at a rate faster than normal thermal conduction between the hot and cold storage volumes.

The principles of the present invention may also be applied to other types of BFGA and other types of working materials. In fig. 1 and 3A to 3H, the working material exhibits a positive magnetocaloric effect. In other embodiments, the BFGA may be used to induce both positive and negative magnetocaloric effects, or only negative magnetocaloric effects. In such embodiments, the BFGA may include a magnetic field generating device and may be configured to increase the specific heat capacity at a constant volume at the beginning of a thermodynamic cycle at a first station, such as station 352, via a negative magnetocaloric effect. In other words, activation of the BFGA may increase the magnetic field strength within the working material, which may increase the specific heat capacity via a negative magnetocaloric effect, resulting in a decrease in temperature between the first and second stations. This may occur, for example, at a constant volume or a constant pressure. Between the second and third stations, the working material may be adiabatically compressed or otherwise compressed in a manner similar to that of fig. 1 throughout adiabatic compression 358. Note that the BFGA remains activated throughout the compression process, so that in this simplified example, the specific heat capacity of the working material at constant volume remains substantially the same as the specific heat capacity at constant volume at the second station.

In the case where the working material exhibits only a negative magnetocaloric effect, the activation level of the BFGA may be returned to the activation level of the BFGA at the first station between the third station and the fourth station, which returns the specific heat capacity of the working material to substantially the same specific heat capacity of the working material at the first station. For example, a change in the BFGA activation level may reduce the magnetic field strength within the working material, which may reduce the specific heat capacity via a negative magnetocaloric effect, resulting in an increase in temperature between the third and fourth stations. This may occur, for example, at a constant volume or a constant pressure. In this case, the thermodynamic cycle can be completed by the subsequent adiabatic expansion of the working material between the fourth station and the fifth station with a substantially constant specific heat capacity and the subsequent addition of heat to the working material from the external environment at a constant volume or constant pressure between the fifth station and the first station.

In the case where the working material also exhibits a positive magnetocaloric effect, the activation level of the BFGA may be modified to induce the effect between the third and fourth stations. For example, the change in the BFGA activation level may further increase the magnetic field strength within the working material, which may reduce the specific heat capacity via a conventional positive magnetocaloric effect, resulting in an increase in temperature between the third and fourth stations. The thermodynamic cycle may be completed by subsequently adiabatic expansion of the working material between the fourth station and the fifth station at a substantially constant specific heat capacity, and subsequently restoring the activation level of the BFGA to the activation level of the BFGA of the first station and the associated specific heat capacity to a level substantially of the specific heat capacity of the first station between the fifth station and the sixth station, and subsequently adding heat to the working material from the external environment at a constant volume or a constant pressure between the sixth station and the first station.

As explained previously, a negative magnetocaloric effect may result from, for example, the introduction of an additional potential DOF or a change in DE of the additional potential DOF, which is associated with a volumetric force per unit mass resulting from a magnetic field acting on an object in the working material. The additional potential DOF may be, for example, a rotational potential DOF. In this case, rotation may refer to a rotation of the magnetic dipole around the local magnetic field direction, which may introduce two additional rotational potentials DOF. As the magnetic field strength is further increased, the DE of these additional rotational potential DOF and the corresponding DE of the rotational motion DOF may decrease. The foregoing scenario is an example of the foregoing positive magnetocaloric effect, which cancels out and then exceeds the magnitude of the previously applied negative magnetocaloric effect between the third and fourth stations via further increasing the magnetic field strength.

Note that in some embodiments, the specific heat capacity at constant volume may vary throughout compression or expansion. For example, the change may be due to a change in specific heat capacity with temperature, or a change in magnetocaloric effect with temperature.

In some embodiments, the positive or negative magnetocaloric effect may be combined with the positive or negative electrocaloric effect to maximize the magnitude of the specific heat capacity difference of the working materials in the thermodynamic cycle.

As described, the principles of the present invention may be utilized in various thermodynamic cycles and thermodynamic devices, such as adding and removing heat from the DOF subset of an object of a working material via a change in the activation level of the BFGA as opposed to a heat source or sink external to the working material. In addition to conventional magnetic or electric refrigeration, such devices are considered to be within the scope of the present invention and generally involve compression or expansion of the working material. For example, such thermodynamic cycles may include isothermal compression or expansion, isobaric compression or expansion, polytropic compression or expansion, or heat delivery from the working material to the external environment, or heat absorption from the external environment to the working material.

FIG. 1 shows a plot of pressure 351 versus specific volume 350 for working materials of a subset of exemplary embodiments of the present invention for an exemplary method of operation.

As mentioned, the working material in fig. 1 is modeled as an ideal gas for simplicity and clarity of description, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. In other embodiments, the working material may be a different type of gas, such as a real gas, for example air, dinitrogen, dioxygen, carbon dioxide, helium, or argon. The working material may also comprise different types of fluids, such as liquids, for example water, liquid nitrogen or liquid dioxygen. The working material may also comprise a solid.

Where the working material is a solid or liquid, the vertical axis 351 may describe the stress applied to the working material along its axis, and the horizontal axis 350 may describe the strain of the respective working material. For example, the stress may be an axial stress along a specified axis of the working material, and the strain may be a strain along the same axis. The stress may also be a principal stress along a principal axis of the working material, and the strain may be a corresponding principal strain.

Fig. 1 depicts a simplified thermodynamic cycle for illustrative purposes. The thermodynamic cycle includes stations 352, 353, 354, 355, and 356. After adiabatic compression 358 between stations 352 and 353, the specific heat capacity at constant volume is reduced 359 by modifying the activation level of the BFGA between stations 353 and 354. In the simplified cycle shown in FIG. 1, the specific heat capacity at constant volume is maintained at a substantially constant value in the adiabatic expansion between station 354 and station 355. Between station 355 and station 356, the activation level of the BFGA is again modified, resulting in an increase 361 in specific heat capacity at constant volume to approximately the same value as station 352. Note that between stations 352, 353, 354, 355, and 356, a net amount of mechanical work is performed by the work material. The energy source for this net mechanical work is provided by the internal energy of the working material. Thus, to return to the original temperature at station 352, the working material absorbs heat 362 from an external heat source. For example, the external heat source may be provided by the external environment of the working material via thermal conduction, natural or forced convection or thermal radiation. This completes a thermodynamic cycle configured to convert thermal energy into useful mechanical work.

In other embodiments, the thermodynamic cycle may be different from that shown in fig. 1. For example, the working material may absorb heat from the external environment throughout the thermodynamic cycle. In such a cycle, during nominal operation, the temperature at which the increase in specific heat capacity at constant volume 361 is complete is equal to the temperature at station 352, i.e., the temperature at the beginning of the cycle. In other words, after the increase 361 in specific heat capacity at a constant volume is complete, no external heat delivery is required. This may reduce the time required to complete a thermodynamic cycle and may improve the power output of embodiments of the present invention. In another example, the working material may be at a sufficiently low temperature relative to the external environment at station 353 such that the working material may absorb a large amount of the total heat required from the external environment at station 353 during one thermodynamic cycle before reducing the specific heat capacity at a constant volume. In this way, the amount of work performed throughout a single thermodynamic cycle and the amount of heat absorbed from the environment may increase, with other conditions unchanged.

In another example, the working material may be circulated through several "open" thermodynamic cycles, where an open cycle refers to a cycle in which the total heat delivered to the working material is less than the net amount of work done by the working material throughout the cycle. For example, an open loop may include a loop between stations 352, 353, 354, 355, and 356. In this open cycle, no heat is absorbed from the external environment. Thus, the temperature at the end of the open cycle at station 356 is not equal to the temperature at the beginning of the open cycle at station 352. When several open cycles are performed sequentially, the temperature of the working material decreases with iteration of the open cycle. In this manner, the temperature of the working material may be reduced to near absolute zero or zero degrees kelvin, as long as the BFGA is configured to modify the specific heat capacity of the working material over a relevant range of temperatures of the entire working material. The sequential application of open cycles may also be employed during the start-up phase of nominal operating conditions. For example, at the beginning of the start-up phase, the working material may be at the same temperature as the external environment. After the first open cycle, the temperature of the working material is slightly lower than the temperature of the external environment, but higher than the temperature of the working material at that point in the thermodynamic cycle during nominal operation. Thus, to reduce the average temperature of the working material to the average operating temperature during nominal operation, the working material may perform several open cycles. As noted, it may be desirable to reduce the average temperature of the working material to a temperature sufficiently low relative to the external environment to increase the rate of heat transfer from the external environment to the working material and thereby increase the power output of the working material. The lower temperature working material may also promote superconductivity in any adjacent and suitably configured electrical conductors in the vicinity of the working material.

The operation of the device 400 shown in fig. 3A-3H and the device 370 shown in fig. 2A-2H may be described using the thermodynamic cycle described in fig. 1.

As noted, a variety of BFGA devices and methods may be employed to modify the specific heat capacity of the working material. For example, in some embodiments, an externally applied electric field may be employed to modify the DE of an existing DOF or EDOF.

The basic principle of using electrical volumetric force or torque per unit mass to modify DE of DOF is similar to that in the case of using magnetic volumetric force or torque per unit mass.

Fig. 2A-2H show cross-sectional views of an embodiment of the invention at various points in time for an exemplary method of operation. The principle of operation of the embodiment 370 shown in fig. 2A to 2H is similar to that of the embodiment shown in fig. 3A to 3H and therefore the same details will not be described again herein. The thermodynamic cycles shown in fig. 2A-2H are also described by the thermodynamic cycle shown in fig. 1.

In fig. 2A to 2H, there is an inner region 371 comprising a working material. For example, the working material may include a gas such as air, nitrogen, oxygen, or carbon dioxide. The working material may also comprise a liquid or a solid. The working material may exhibit a positive electro-thermal effect, i.e., an increase in temperature due to an increase in the magnitude of the electric field within the working material, and an associated decrease in the specific heat capacity of the working material at a constant volume due to a decrease in the DE of the DOF of the object in the working material. In other embodiments, the working material may exhibit an electronegative thermoeffect, i.e., a decrease in temperature due to an increase in the magnitude of the electric field within the working material, and an associated increase in the specific heat capacity of the working material at a constant volume due to an increase in the DE of the DOF of the object in the working material. The working material may also exhibit positive and negative electrothermal effects. For example, as the electric field strength within the working material increases, the working material may exhibit an electronegative heating effect, followed by a electropositive heating effect, which may exceed the electronegative heating effect of the working material in terms of the magnitude of change in specific heat capacity at a constant volume. Examples of solid materials exhibiting positive electrothermal effects are the widely used piezoelectric materials PZT or lead zirconate titanate. Various other materials exhibiting an electrothermal effect are known in the art.

The working material may also comprise solid particles, such as small solid crystals, in a gas or liquid. The working material may also include atoms of other solid materials bound to the ligand and thus suspended in the fluid. The working material may also comprise several different types of molecules, such as sodium molecules dissolved in water or water molecules embedded in air.

For simplicity, fig. 2A-2H and fig. 1, the working material in the inner region 371 is configured to exhibit a positive electrothermal effect.

In fig. 2A-2H, during nominal operation, the working material includes an object that carries a net electric dipole during at least a portion of a thermodynamic cycle, such as the thermodynamic cycle shown in fig. 1. An electric dipole of an object, such as a molecule, may include contributions from charge distributions within the object as well as contributions from net charges on the object, such as ions. The electric dipole may be: induced dipoles, such as the case of polarization of neutral atoms or molecules; or a permanent dipole. Permanent electric dipoles may result from the alignment of atoms in a molecule, as is the case with water or steam molecules. An induced electric dipole can be induced in the molecule by the presence of an external electric field, as is the case with oxygen or nitrogen molecules. Note that diatomic molecules are generally characterized by a preferred direction of polarization, wherein the preferred direction is generally along the long axis of the molecule. Thus, when the angle between the long axis of the molecule and the direction of the electric field is less than ninety degrees and greater than zero, there may be a moment or volume torque per unit mass acting on the molecule due to preferential polarization of the electric field along the long axis of the molecule or along the main polarization axis. Note that the volume torque per unit mass can be considered to result from a volume force per unit mass acting on a molecule, wherein the line of action of the volume force does not pass through the centroid of the molecule. Note that an electric dipole can be considered similar to a magnetic dipole in terms of its contribution to the specific heat capacity of the working material and its interaction with an external electric field. As described in the context of an external magnetic field, an external electric field refers to a field external to an object and may include "intrinsic" contributions, e.g., from neighboring atoms or ions, as well as "additional" contributions, e.g., from external electric field generating devices such as the electric field generating device 387. Note that modifying the activation level of the BFGA may modify the intrinsic component of the electric field or the extrinsic component of the electric field. For example, the BFGA may be configured to ionize at least a portion of the working material, thus changing the magnitude of the intrinsic electric field. Ionization of the working material is particularly attractive in cases where the working material is gaseous, because ionization can add three additional translational potential DOFs to the object in the working material by increasing the strength and range of the interatomic force, where the three translational potential DOFs supplement the existing three translational DOFs of the centroid of the molecules or atoms of the gas. Ionization can also add two rotational potential DOFs to complement the existing two rotational DOFs of diatomic molecules. Ionization can also modify the DE of the vibrational modes of the molecule, i.e., the translational motion and potential DOF associated with the interatomic spacing of atoms in the molecule.

Note that in the case where the working material is a solid, the working material may also be ionized. For example, in a doped semiconductor subjected to an electric field, a depletion region may be formed. This is illustrated by a depletion region at the pn junction in the diode, or in a charged plate or charged electrical contact in the junction field effect transistor or JFET. For example, the working material may comprise a doped semiconductor material. As shown in fig. 2D, when the BFGA device, i.e., the electric field generating device, is activated and charge is allowed to accumulate in the first conductor 385 and the second conductor 386, then mobile charge carriers within the working material may form a depletion region. In this case, the depletion region refers to both depletion of electrons in a positively charged depletion region and depletion of holes or accumulation of electrons in a negatively charged depletion region. A negatively charged depletion region is formed near the positively charged first conductor 385 and a positively charged depletion region is formed near the negatively charged second conductor 386. The positive and negative depletion regions may extend into the working material along the Y-direction a sufficient distance, wherein the distance may be on the order of hundreds of microns. Several conductors, such as conductors 385 and 386, may be located within or embedded within the working material to ensure that a sufficient portion of the working material includes a positively or negatively charged depletion region. Ionization of portions of the working material may modify the interatomic potential and, thus, the stiffness of the interatomic harmonic oscillator. As mentioned, this may modify the DE of the interatomic vibrational potential and the dynamic DOF of the working material. For example, ionization of the working material or formation of a depletion region within the working material may increase the stiffness of the interatomic potential and decrease the DE of the affected DOF, which may decrease the specific heat capacity of the working material.

In fig. 2A to 2H, the specific heat capacity of the working material at a constant volume can be modified by modifying the electric field strength within the working material. As in the embodiment shown in fig. 3A to 3H and the description of fig. 1, the working material is configured in the following manner: wherein the magnitude of the specific heat capacity of the working material at a constant volume is a function of the activation level of the BFGA during at least a portion of the thermodynamic cycle during nominal operation. In other words, modification of the activation level of the BFGA may be employed to modify the specific heat capacity of the working material at a constant volume during at least a portion of the thermodynamic cycle during nominal operation.

For simplicity and clarity of description, the working materials in fig. 2A-2H and fig. 1 may include a diatomic gas, such as oxygen or nitrogen. For simplicity, the gas is considered to be an ideal gas. The principles of the present invention described in the context of fig. 1 and 2A-2H also apply to embodiments in which the working material is a liquid or a solid. Note that the electrothermal performance of the working material may be more pronounced for other working materials than for the working materials described in the context of fig. 2A-2H and fig. 1. In other words, in practice, other working materials may be better suited to a given application as the examples are intended to illustrate the principles of operation, as compared to the working materials described in the context of the examples shown in fig. 2A-2H and fig. 1. For example, suitability may be a function of the degree to which modification of the activation level of the BFGA may be employed to modify the specific heat capacity of the working material at a constant volume during at least a portion of a thermodynamic cycle during nominal operation. Other working material candidates have been described in the previous paragraphs or may be readily selected by one of ordinary skill in the art for a given application.

In fig. 2A-2H, an inner region 371 having an inner surface 372 is cylindrical in shape, having a circular cross-section when viewed along a horizontal direction that is parallel to the edge at the bottom of the page. This direction is also referred to as the X-direction. The Y direction is in the plane of the page and perpendicular to the X direction. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry of the inner region may be elliptical. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry of the inner region may be annular or ring-shaped. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry may be, for example, square or rectangular. In some such embodiments, the rectangular or square cross-sectional geometry features rounded corners.

Cannula device 380 is configured to provide structural support to inner chamber 371 and the remainder of embodiment 370. The bulk material 381 of the sleeve device 380 may comprise a metal, such as aluminum or iron. Bulk material 381 may also include composite materials such as glass fibers or carbon fibers.

The compression device is configured to be capable of performing work on the working material. In the simplified embodiment 370 shown in fig. 2A-2H, the compression means is realized by an actuating means 373 comprising a piston head 374 and a piston shaft 377, both of which have a circular cross-section when viewed along the X-direction. In other embodiments, the compression device may comprise a turbomachine, such as an axial compressor or a centrifugal compressor. In some embodiments, the compression device may further comprise a conduit configured to decelerate and compress the freestream fluid flow.

The expansion device is configured to allow the working material to work on the expansion device. In the simplified example shown in fig. 2A to 2H, the expansion device is also realized by an actuation device 373. In other embodiments, the expansion device may comprise a turbomachine, such as an axial turbine or a centrifugal turbine. In some embodiments, the expansion device may further comprise a conduit configured to accelerate and expand the working material.

The actuation device 373 further includes an actuator 379 configured to apply work to the piston shaft 377 and to allow the piston shaft 377 to apply work to the actuator. The actuating device 373 may be configured in a similar manner as the actuating device 403. As described in the context of the actuation device 403, there are a wide variety of actuator types and configurations that may facilitate relative movement between the piston and the sleeve device 380. As described in the context of actuation device 403, actuation device 373 may be, for example, hydraulic, solenoid, rotary electric, linear electric, or piezoelectric.

In fig. 2A-2H, the BFGA includes an electric field generation arrangement 387 configured to modify the strength of the electric field within chamber 351. The BFGA is located near the inner region 371. The BFGA is configured to be capable of applying at least one volumetric force per unit mass to an object, e.g., an atom or molecule, of the working material. In this embodiment, the magnitude of the volume force may be adjusted by a separate electronic circuit. The BFGA includes a first conductor 385 and a second conductor 386, both of which may be electrostatically charged. The charging process may include applying a voltage difference across the first conductor 385 and the second conductor 386. For example, the voltage difference may be provided by a battery or by the actuation device 373 and associated electronic circuitry, such as an associated capacitor or battery. In the case where the working material is electrically conductive, the electrical conductors 385 and 386 are electrically isolated from the working material. In the case where bulk material 381 is conductive, the set of charges is also electrically isolated from bulk material 381. An electrical conductor, such as an insulated copper wire, connects the first conductor 385 to a voltage source and the second conductor 386 to the voltage source. These electrical conductors are not shown. Between the first conductor 385 and the inner region 371, and between the second conductor 386 and the inner region 371, the bulk material 381 is configured to be electrically non-conductive. In practice, first conductor 385 and second conductor 386 may be considered to be opposing plates of a capacitor, with the dielectric between the plates comprising the working material and the relevant portion of bulk material 381 between first conductor 385 and second conductor 386. In the illustrated embodiment, the first conductor 385 and the second conductor 386 are configured in the following manner: wherein when the first conductor 385 and the second conductor 386 are oppositely charged, a majority of the electric field lines pass through the working material. To this end, the first conductor 385 and the second conductor 386 may include several insulated conductors. These conductors may be, for example, wires, and may be arranged parallel to the X axis within the first conductor 385. This may be used to prevent or reduce any undesirable redistribution of charge within first conductor 385 and second conductor 386. The cross-sections of the first conductor 385 are distributed from 10 o 'clock to 2 o' clock around the central axis of the cylindrical inner region 371 when viewed along the X-direction. Note that the first conductor 385 is otherwise annular in shape and, in this simplified embodiment, is axially symmetric about the central axis. Similarly, the second conductors run from 4 o 'clock to 8 o' clock. In other embodiments, the arc lengths of the first conductor 385 and the second conductor 386 may vary within 180 degrees. In embodiments in which the inner region 371 is annular in shape, the cross-sectional area of the inner region 371, when viewed along the X-direction, is described by the regions being contained within two concentric circles of different radii. In such embodiments, the cross-sectional area of the first conductor 385, when viewed along the X-direction, describes a similar annular region that is located outside the annular cross-section of the inner region 371, and the cross-sectional area of the second conductor 385 describes a similar annular region that is located inside the annular cross-section of the inner region 371.

In embodiments in which the inner region 371 is square in shape, with boundaries parallel to the Y-axis or Z-axis, the cross-sectional area of the first conductor 385 is described by a rectangle when viewed along the X-direction, with boundaries parallel to the Y-axis or Z-axis, and with a length along the Z-axis substantially equal to the length of the inner region 371 along the Z-axis. In some embodiments, the length of the first conductor 385 along the Z-axis may be greater or less than the length of the inner region 371 along the Z-axis. The second conductor 386 is configured to be symmetrical to the first conductor 385, wherein the plane of symmetry is parallel to the XZ plane and coincides with the centroid of the inner region 371. In other embodiments, the second conductor 386 need not be symmetrical to the first conductor 385.

In other embodiments, the first conductor may be located within the plunger head 374 and the second conductor may be located on the opposite side of the inner region 371, i.e., within the bulk material 381 in the negative X direction of the plunger head 374. A wide variety of other configurations of BFGA are within the scope of the present invention.

The principle of operation of a subset of embodiments is described by the thermodynamic cycle shown in fig. 1 and the configuration of embodiment 370 shown in fig. 2A-2H.

In fig. 2A, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material at station 352 of fig. 1. The actuating device 373 is in a fully retracted position and the working material is in a state of maximum volume, wherein the volume is provided by the configuration and dimensions of the inner region 371. The electric field generating device is configured to minimize the electric field strength within the working material at station 352 in this example. For the embodiment 370 shown in fig. 2A-2H, this corresponds to a zero or negligible net charge on the first conductor 385 and the second conductor 386, resulting in zero or negligible additional electric field strength throughout the working material. This configuration of the electric field generating device 387 is also referred to as an "off configuration.

In fig. 2B, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material between stations 352 and 353 in fig. 1. Between stations 352 and 353, the working material is being compressed by an actuation device 373 that mechanically performs work on the working material, as indicated by the label "WIN" in fig. 2B. Movement of the inner surface 375 of the piston 374 reduces the volume of the chamber 371, which compresses the working material contained therein. In this particular example, the working material is compressed adiabatically, i.e., without heat exchange with the external environment 384. During this entire compression, the electric field of the electric field generating means remains in the off configuration. In fig. 1, for simplicity, the compression of the working material is modeled as the compression of an ideal gas.

In fig. 2C, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material at station 353 of fig. 1. The actuating device 373 is in a fully extended position and the working material is in a state of minimum volume, wherein the minimum volume is provided by the stroke length of the actuating device 373 and the maximum volume of the inner region 371. At station 353, the electric field of the electric field generating device is in an off configuration.

In fig. 2D, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material at station 354 of fig. 1. In this example, the volume of working material in state 354 and state 353 is the same. Between stations 353 and 354, the electric field generating device is configured to increase the electric field strength within the working material to a desired value, which is expressed as an "activation value" greater than zero. For embodiment 370, as indicated, this corresponds to a non-zero net positive charge within the first conductor 385 and a net negative charge within the second conductor 386. This results in an additional non-zero electric field strength across the working material. This configuration of the electric field generating device 387 is also referred to as an "on" configuration. In this example, the magnitude of the electric field strength within the working material may be considered the "activation level" of the BFGA, in this case the "activation level" of the electric field generation device 387. In this example, an increase in the electric field strength within the working material between stations 353 and 354 correlates to a positive electrical heating effect, resulting in a decrease in the specific heat capacity of the working material at a constant volume, and a corresponding increase in the temperature and pressure of the working material, as shown in fig. 1. As previously described, the pairing of the kinetic and potential DOFs of an object can be modeled in a simplified model as a harmonic oscillator. An increase in the strength of the electric field in the working material can increase the stiffness of the harmonic oscillator affected by the electric field by increasing the magnitude of the electric volumetric force or torque per unit mass acting on the body of working material for a given displacement or rotation angle of the body relative to the equilibrium position. This may increase the spacing between energy levels across the energy spectrum of the affected DOF and reduce the number of energy levels achievable by an object of a given mean energy within the affected DOF. In this way, an increase in the electric field strength in the working material may result in a net decrease in DE of the affected DOF of the object in the working material. For example, when the electric field strength is sufficiently strong, several previously activated DOF of the object, e.g. rotational potential or dynamic DOF, may be frozen by activating the BFGA, i.e. the electric field generation means 387, as described before. Reducing the DE of the DOF of the object of working material reduces the specific heat capacity of the constant volume of working material.

The reduction of specific heat capacity at constant volume occurs adiabatically in the simplified example embodiment shown in fig. 2A to 2H, i.e. without heat exchange between the working material and the external environment. As mentioned, a decrease in specific heat capacity at constant volume is associated with an increase in the temperature of the working material. Note that the temperature increase occurs at a pressure greater than the pressure at station 352. The temperature increase at the greater pressure may be considered similar to the temperature increase at the higher pressure that occurs in other thermodynamic cycles, such as the otto cycle, as described in the context of fig. 3A-3H.

In fig. 2E, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material between stations 354 and 355 in fig. 1. Between stations 354 and 355, the working material is expanding and is working on an actuation device 373, as shown by the label "WOUT" in fig. 2E. Movement of inner surface 375 of piston 374 increases the volume of chamber 371, which causes the working material contained therein to expand. In this particular example, the working material is expanded adiabatically, i.e., without heat exchange with the external environment 384. During this entire expansion, the electric field of the electric field generating means is maintained in the switched-on configuration. In fig. 1, for simplicity, the expansion of the working material is modeled as the expansion of an ideal gas. In some embodiments, the electric field strength within the working material may be modified throughout this expansion process in order to maintain or generate a desired specific heat capacity at a constant volume of the working material throughout the expansion process.

In fig. 2F, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material at station 355 of fig. 1. Actuating device 373 is in a fully retracted position and the volume of working material is the same as the volume at station 352. At station 355, the electric field of the electric field generating device is in the on configuration. Note that since the specific heat capacity at constant volume of working material is smaller throughout the expansion between stations 354 and 355 compared to the specific heat capacity at constant volume of working material throughout the compression between stations 352 and 353, the changes in temperature and pressure during expansion are greater in magnitude than for the same scenario for the specific heat capacity at constant volume in both the compression and expansion processes.

In fig. 2G, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material at station 356 of fig. 1. In this example, the volume of working material in state 356 and state 355 is the same. Between stations 355 and 356, the electric field generating device is configured to reduce the electric field strength within the work material back to the off configuration, i.e., the configuration at station 353 or 352. As mentioned, in the depicted simplified example, the off configuration corresponds to a configuration in which there is no net charge in electrical conductors 385 and 386 of electric field generating device 387. Between stations 355 and 356, the specific heat capacity at constant volume of working material decreases and is returned substantially to the value of the specific heat capacity at constant volume at stations 352 and 353. Thus, the temperature and pressure at station 356 is lower than the temperature and pressure at station 355. The temperature decrease is due to the increase in DE of the DOF of the object in the working material, and the corresponding heat flow from other DOFs into the DOF experiencing the increase in DE. This process can be considered the reverse of the reduction in specific heat capacity at a constant volume between stations 353 and 354. Note that the pressure and therefore the temperature at station 356 in fig. 1 is also lower than the pressure and therefore the temperature at station 352 in fig. 1.

In fig. 2H, the thermodynamic state of the working material corresponds to the state of the working material between stations 356 and 352 of fig. 1. In this example, the volume of working material in state 356 and state 352 is the same. Between stations 356 and 352, the working material is heated by external environment 384 via heat flow "QIN" such that the temperature of the working material at the completion of the heating process matches the temperature at station 352. For example, as described in the context of fig. 3A-3H, a heat flow QIN may be delivered from external environment 384 to the working material in chamber 371 via thermal conduction through bulk material 381.

In the ideal case depicted in fig. 1 and 2A-2H, the working material performs a net mechanical work on actuation device 373. In other words, the size of "WOUT" is greater than the size of "WIN". As described in the context of fig. 3A-3H, the source of energy for the net mechanical work performed by the working material is the internal energy of the working material, which is supplemented by heat absorbed by the working material from the external environment 384 during thermodynamic cycles during nominal stable operation. For the particular cycle shown in fig. 1, the net mechanical work performed by the working material throughout one thermodynamic cycle is equal to the net heat absorbed by the working material between stations 356 and 352.

In some embodiments, external environment 384 includes, for example, the earth's atmosphere. The external environment 384 may also be a separate heat store. The external environment 384 may, for example, comprise a compartment of a refrigerator. As described in more detail in the context of fig. 3A-3H, in some implementations, the external environment 384 may include electronic circuitry.

Fig. 5A-5N show cross-sectional views of an embodiment of the invention at various points in time for an exemplary method of operation.

There is an inner region 34 comprising a working material. The working material may be, for example, a gas, such as air, helium, or nitrogen. The working material may also be a liquid, such as water. In the embodiments shown in fig. 4 and fig. 5A to 5N, the working material is considered to be an ideal gas for the sake of simplicity.

The inner region is cylindrical in shape, having a circular cross-section when viewed along the X-direction. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry of the inner region may be annular or ring-shaped. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry may be, for example, square or rectangular.

In the simplified embodiment shown, it is assumed that the pressure in the outer zone 35 is substantially constant throughout nominal operation. In other embodiments, this need not be the case. For example, the outer zone 35 may be the atmosphere. The outer region 35 may also be a separate reservoir.

Cannula device 26 is configured to provide structural support to the inner chamber 34 and the remainder of embodiment 25. The bulk material 27 of the sleeve device 26 may comprise a metal, such as aluminum or iron. The bulk material 27 may also comprise a composite material, such as glass or carbon fibres.

The compression device is configured to perform work on the working material. In the simplified embodiment 25 shown in fig. 5A to 5H, the compression means is implemented by a piston arrangement 28 comprising a piston head 29 and a piston shaft 30, both having a circular cross-section when viewed in the X-direction. In other embodiments, the compression device may comprise a turbomachine, such as an axial compressor or a centrifugal compressor. In some embodiments, the compression device may further comprise a conduit configured to decelerate the freestream fluid flow.

The expansion device is configured to allow the working material to perform work on embodiments of the present invention. In the simplified example shown in fig. 5A to 5N, the expansion means is also implemented by a piston means 28. In other embodiments, the expansion device may comprise a turbomachine, such as an axial turbine or a centrifugal turbine. In some embodiments, the expansion device may further comprise a conduit configured to accelerate the working material.

The inlet arrangement is configured to allow the working material to flow into the inner region 34. In the simplified embodiment 25, the inlet means is implemented by an inlet pipe means 43 having an inner channel 45. In other embodiments, for example, the inlet device may be implemented by a conduit.

The outlet means is configured to allow the working material to flow out of the inner region 34. In the simplified embodiment 25, the outlet means is embodied by an outlet tube means 36 having an internal channel 38. In other embodiments, for example, the outlet device may be implemented by a conduit.

A volumetric force per unit mass generating device or "BFGA" is located adjacent the inner region 34. The BFGA is configured to be capable of applying at least one volumetric force per unit mass to an object, e.g., an atom or molecule, of the working material. In this embodiment, the magnitude of the volume force may be adjusted. The BFGA includes a first conductor 51 and a second conductor 52, both of which may be electrostatically charged. The charging process may include applying a voltage difference across the first conductor 51 and the second conductor 52. For example, the voltage difference may be provided by a battery. The first and second conductors 51, 52 and the portion of the bulk material 27 of the bushing arrangement 26 are electrically insulated from each other. An electrical conductor, such as an insulated copper wire, connects the first conductor 51 to a voltage source and the second conductor 52 to the voltage source. These electrical conductors are not shown. The bulk material 27 is configured to be electrically non-conductive between the first conductor 51 and the inner region 34 and between the second conductor 52 and the inner region 34. In practice, the first conductor 51 and the second conductor 52 may be considered to be the opposing plates of the capacitor, with the dielectric between these plates comprising the working material and the relevant portion of the bulk material 27 between the first conductor 51 and the second conductor 52. In the illustrated embodiment, the first conductor 51 and the second conductor 52 are configured in the following manner: wherein the majority of the electric field lines pass through the working material when the first conductor 51 and the second conductor 52 are oppositely charged. To this end, the first conductor 51 and the second conductor 52 may include several insulated conductors. These conductors may be, for example, wires, and may be arranged within the first conductor 51 parallel to the X-axis. This may be used to prevent or reduce any undesired charge redistribution within first conductor 51 and second conductor 52. The cross-sections of the first conductor 51 are distributed from 10 o 'clock to 2 o' clock around the central axis of the cylindrical inner region 34 when viewed along the X direction. Note that the first conductor 51 is otherwise axially symmetric about the central axis in this simplified embodiment. Similarly, the second conductors run from 4 o 'clock to 8 o' clock. In other embodiments, the arc length of the first and second conductors 51, 52 may vary within 180 degrees. In embodiments in which the inner region 34 is annular in shape, the cross-sectional area of the inner region 34, when viewed along the X direction, is described by the area contained within two concentric circles of different radii. In such embodiments, the cross-sectional area of the first conductor 51 describes a similar annular area located outside the annular cross-section of the inner region 34, and the cross-sectional area of the second conductor 51 describes a similar annular area located inside the annular cross-section of the inner region 34, when viewed along the X-direction.

In embodiments in which the inner region 34 is square in shape with boundaries parallel to the Y-axis or Z-axis, the cross-sectional area of the first conductor 51 is described by a rectangle when viewed along the X-direction, with boundaries parallel to the Y-axis or Z-axis, and with a length along the Z-axis substantially equal to the length of the inner region 34 along the Z-axis. In some embodiments, the length of the first conductor 51 along the Z-axis may be greater or less than the length of the inner region 34 along the Z-axis. The second conductor 52 is configured to be symmetrical to the first conductor 51, wherein the plane of symmetry is parallel to the XZ plane and coincides with the centroid of the inner region 34. In other embodiments, the second conductor 52 need not be symmetrical to the first conductor 51.

In other embodiments, the first conductor may be located within the piston head 29 and the second conductor may be located within an opposite face of the inner region 34, i.e., located along the negative X-direction of the piston head 29. In such embodiments, the inlet and outlet means may be located at other faces of the inner region 34, i.e. located along the positive and negative Y-directions of the inner region 34 as opposed to the negative X-direction as shown in figure 5A. A wide variety of other configurations of BFGA are within the scope of the present invention.

The arrangement shown in fig. 5A corresponds to the arrangement of the working material at the station 1 shown in fig. 4. In this configuration, the BFGA does not exert a significant amount of volumetric force on any object within the working material. Therefore, BFGA may be considered to be off, i.e., first conductor 51 and second conductor 52 are neutral.

The configuration shown in fig. 5B corresponds to the configuration of the working material at station 2 shown in fig. 4. In this configuration, the BFGA may be considered to have been turned on, as noted, with first conductor 51 electrostatically charged positively and second conductor 52 electrostatically charged negatively. As mentioned, this may be accomplished, for example, by electrically connecting the positive and negative terminals of the battery to the first and second conductors 51 and 52, respectively. Other methods of electrostatically charging the first conductor 51 and the second conductor 52 are available. For example, different voltage sources may be employed, such as generators or capacitors.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, and as described below, the net effect of the BFGA being activated is an increase in the specific heat capacity at a constant volume and constant pressure of the working material. Since the volume of the working material remains constant throughout the activation of the BFGA, an increase in specific heat capacity at a constant volume corresponds to a decrease in temperature and pressure of the working material, as shown in station 2 of fig. 4. In practice, the transition from station 1 to station 2 may be described as isochoric decompression 10. In other embodiments or other methods of operation, for example, the transition from station 1 to station 2 may be described as an isobaric reduction in specific volume. In other embodiments or methods of operation, the pressure and specific volume may vary in any direction. For example, work may be done on the working material by a compression or expansion device, or heat or mass may be added or removed from the working material. In the simplified embodiment shown in fig. 4 and 5A-5B, no heat, work, or mass is exchanged with the environment. Note that in other embodiments, activation of the BFGA may reduce the specific heat capacity. In such an embodiment, the BFGA is deactivated or the activation level of the BFGA is reduced throughout the transition from station 1 to station 2, such that the specific heat capacity of station 2 is greater than the specific heat capacity of station 1.

The configuration shown in fig. 5C corresponds to the adiabatic compression 11 of the working material between the stations 2 and 3 shown in fig. 4. Throughout this process, the compression device works on the working material. The actuator moves the piston means 28 into the sleeve means 26, reducing the volume of the inner region 34 and increasing the pressure of the working material. The actuator may be a motor or a second embodiment connected to the first embodiment 25 via a crankshaft. Note that the BFGA remains active throughout this process. In some embodiments, it is necessary to reduce the magnitude of the activation of the BFGA near the reduced inner region 34 throughout the compression process in order to avoid arcing, i.e., breakdown of the dielectric of the portion comprising the working material and the bulk material 27. In other embodiments or methods of operation, for example, the compression process between stations 2 and 3 need not be adiabatic, but may be isothermal, or otherwise variable.

The configuration shown in fig. 5D corresponds to the configuration of the working material at station 3 shown in fig. 4.

The configuration shown in fig. 5E corresponds to the configuration of the working material at station 4 shown in fig. 4. In this configuration, the BFGA may be considered to have been turned off. In other words, in terms of the effect of the BFGA on the working material, the BFGA may be considered to have returned to the original configuration at station 1. In other embodiments, this need not be the case, i.e., the BFGA may be at an activation level between that at stations 1 and 3. In general, the BFGA at station 4 may be configured in a manner where the specific heat capacity at station 4 is lower than the specific heat capacity at station 3. In the embodiments shown in fig. 5E and 4, the specific heat capacity at station 4 is the same as the specific heat capacity at station 1. As previously mentioned, the transition from station 3 to station 4 may be considered isochoric compression 12, with no exchange of heat, mass, or work with the surrounding environment. Note that the ambient environment of the working material also includes BFGA. In the embodiments shown in fig. 5A-5N, it is assumed that a change in BFGA activation level will release, consume, or require a negligible amount of energy and perform a negligible amount of work on the working material, and vice versa. Note that in other embodiments, a change in the activation level of the BFGA may consume or release energy. Some of this energy may be irreversibly lost. As will be discussed below, at least a portion of the energy released in these processes may be recovered and stored in a battery or other energy storage device, and reused at a later point in time, or immediately reused.

The configuration shown in fig. 5F corresponds to the adiabatic expansion 13 of the working material between the stations 4 and 5 shown in fig. 4. Throughout this process, the working material works the expansion device. The generator recovers the work done by the fluid on the piston arrangement 28, increasing the volume of the inner region 34 and reducing the pressure of the working material. The generator may be a generator or a second embodiment connected to the first embodiment 25 via a crankshaft. Note that the BFGA remains deactivated throughout this process. Since the heat capacity of the adiabatic expansion 13 is low compared to the adiabatic compression 11, the ratio of the specific heat of the adiabatic expansion 13 is large. In other embodiments or methods of operation, for example, the expansion process between stations 4 and 5 need not be adiabatic, but may be isothermal or otherwise variable.

The configuration shown in fig. 5G corresponds to the configuration of the working material at station 5 shown in fig. 4.

The configuration shown in fig. 5G corresponds to the configuration of the working material at station 5 shown in fig. 4. In this configuration, the BFGA may be considered to have been turned off. Note that the temperature and specific volume of the working material at station 5 are lower than the temperature and specific volume of the working material at station 1, with the same pressure. Throughout the transition from station 1 to station 5, the temperature of the working material has decreased, while the pressure has not changed as a whole. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may be used in applications where refrigeration working materials are required.

The configuration shown in fig. 5H indicates the configuration of the embodiment 25 after the inner opening 39 of the outlet pipe device 36 is opened by the movement of the valve shaft 42 in the positive X direction. Note that the temperature and pressure of the working material within the outlet pipe means 36 is substantially equal to the temperature and pressure of the working material at the station 5.

The arrangement shown in fig. 5I indicates that the working material is expelled from the inner opening 39 of the outlet tube means 36 by the action of the compression means, i.e. the movement of the piston means 28 in the negative X-direction. Throughout this process, the pressure within the inner region 34 remains substantially constant in this simplified example.

The configuration shown in fig. 5J indicates the configuration of the embodiment 25 at the end of the discharge of the working material from the inner opening 39 of the outlet tube means 36.

The configuration shown in fig. 5K indicates the configuration of the embodiment 25 after the inner opening 39 of the outlet tube means 36 is closed by the movement of the valve shaft 42 in the negative X direction.

The configuration shown in fig. 5L indicates the configuration of the embodiment 25 after the inner opening 46 of the inlet tube fitting 43 is opened by the movement of the valve shaft 49 in the positive X direction. Note that the temperature and pressure of the working material within the inlet pipe means 43 is substantially equal to the temperature and pressure of the working material at the station 1.

The arrangement shown in figure 5M indicates that the working material is drawn through the inner opening 46 of the inlet pipe means 43 by the action of the compression means, i.e. the movement of the piston means 28 in the positive X direction. Throughout this process, the pressure within the inner region 34 remains substantially constant in this simplified example.

The configuration shown in fig. 5N indicates the configuration of the embodiment 25 after the piston arrangement 28 has been returned to the configuration of the station 1.

The configuration shown in fig. 5A indicates the configuration of the embodiment 25 after the inner opening 46 of the inlet tube set 43 is closed by the movement of the valve shaft 42 in the negative X direction.

The reconfiguration shown in fig. 5H to 5N describes the reduction in volume of the inner region 34 and the expulsion of working material from the inner region 34 into the second thermal store at constant pressure, and the pumping of working material from the first store into the inner region 34. In some embodiments, the first storage volume and the second storage volume are identical, i.e. are one and the same. In some embodiments, the working material may be air, and the first reservoir and the second reservoir may be the earth's atmosphere. Between station 5 and station 1 of fig. 4, the working material may be isobaric heated, as illustrated by isobaric expansion 16 of fig. 4. For example, the heating process may occur in the second storage body.

Thus, fig. 5A-5N depict a cycle similar to a four-stroke reciprocating engine. In other embodiments or methods of operation, configurations and operations similar to those of a two-stroke reciprocating engine may be used. Other embodiments may be configured and operated like a turboshaft engine following the same principles of the simplified embodiments shown in fig. 5A-5N and described herein. Other embodiments may be configured and operated like other turbomachines, such as turbofan engines or ramjet engines.

In some embodiments, the devices shown in fig. 5A-5N may operate continuously, as the configuration after the configuration shown in fig. 5N corresponds to the configuration shown in fig. 5A.

A plurality of thermodynamic devices or reservoirs may be connected to the outer opening 40 of the outlet pipe means 36 and the outer opening 47 of the inlet pipe means 43. For example, the atmosphere may be located outside of the outer openings 40 and 47. Alternatively, a connecting tube may connect the outer opening 40 to the outer opening 47. The connecting pipe may pass through the heat exchanger and absorb heat from the separate storage body. For example, the separate storage body may be the inside of a refrigerator. In some embodiments, a compressor, such as an axial compressor, a centrifugal compressor, or a reciprocating compressor, may be located upstream of the outer opening 47. In some embodiments, a turbine, such as an axial turbine, a centrifugal turbine, or a reciprocating generator, may be located downstream of the outer opening 40. In some embodiments, a compressor, such as an axial compressor, a centrifugal compressor, or a reciprocating compressor, may be located downstream of the outer opening 40. In some embodiments, a turbine, such as an axial turbine, a centrifugal turbine, or a reciprocating generator, may be located upstream of the outer opening 47. In some embodiments, the heat exchanger may be located downstream of the outer opening 40 or upstream of the outer opening 47. In some embodiments, the reciprocating internal combustion engine may be located downstream of the outer opening 40. In some embodiments, the turboshaft engine may be located downstream of the outer opening 40. Embodiments of the present invention may be used to pre-cool fluid entering a combustion engine, wherein the combustion engine may be of any type, such as reciprocating or turbo jet. This may reduce peak temperatures or increase the efficiency of such combustion engines. The thermodynamic cycle shown in fig. 4 produces a net mechanical work output. The mechanical work may also be converted to electrical energy by means of a generator. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may also be considered for applications involving the generation or consumption of electrical power. Embodiments of the present invention may be used to convert mechanical work into thermal energy when a thermodynamic cycle is run in reverse with the initial station similar to station 5 in fig. 4.

In some embodiments, the transition from station 1 to station 5 may be repeated several times before the working material is discharged from the inner region 34 into the outlet tube means 36. In some embodiments, the working material may be expelled from the first embodiment and pumped into the second embodiment at station 5. In other words, the station 1 of the second embodiment may be identical to the station 5 of the first embodiment. Thus, several embodiments of the invention may be connected in series.

According to some embodiments of the invention, the temperature of the working material is modified by a modifying device. According to some embodiments of the invention, the modifying means modifies or applies a volumetric force per unit mass acting on the body or part of the body of working material to modify a macroscopic thermodynamic property of the working material, such as a specific heat capacity of the working material. For example, specific heat capacity may refer to specific heat capacity at a constant volume, or specific heat capacity at a constant pressure, or a ratio of specific heat capacities. As mentioned, the volumetric force per unit mass may be generated or modified by a variety of methods. According to some embodiments of the invention, such a change in volumetric force per unit mass is used to modify the number of excited degrees of freedom or "EDOFs" of at least one object in the working material, or the degree of excitation of at least one EDOF of at least one object in the working material. In some embodiments, the modification is configured to increase the number of EDOFs. In other embodiments, the modification is configured to reduce the number of EDOFs. In some embodiments, the modification is configured to modify the degree of excitation of the DOF, wherein the modification may be an increase or decrease in the degree of excitation.

For example, in the case where the working material is a gas, the object of the working material may be an individual gas molecule. The working material may also be described as a medium. The term "medium" as used herein describes any material capable of containing, carrying, transporting, or conveying an object of interest. For example, the medium may be a gas, a liquid, a solid. By default, a medium refers to the set of all objects that interact with a given device. The term "object" as used herein describes any component of a medium. The object may be described as a particle, e.g. a collection of molecules, e.g. a dust particle or a macromolecule, e.g. a buckminster fullerene, or a single molecule, e.g. a water molecule. Other examples of objects are subatomic particles, such as electrons or protons. An object may also be described as a wave, such as a photon or phonon. The invention is applicable to any medium or working material that can be considered to comprise different objects, wherein the number of EDOFs or the degree of excitation of at least one EDOF of at least one object within the working material can be modified by an EDOF modification device.

For example, as described by quantum mechanics, an excited degree of freedom or "EDOF" is a degree of freedom for an object that cannot be considered a medium or working material that has frozen. For example, a diatomic oxygen molecule at room temperature can be considered to have five EDOFs, including three EDOFs associated with translational kinetic energy of the molecule's centroid moving in three directions of the cartesian inertial system, and two EDOFs associated with rotational kinetic energy of the molecule rotating about two axes perpendicular to the long axis of the molecule and perpendicular to each other. Note that in this scenario, the other DOF can be considered to be frozen at room temperature. These frozen DOFs include two DOFs associated with vibrational motion of atoms along the interatomic potential, i.e., a translational motion DOF and a potential DOF. The potential may be defined as the integral of the volumetric force value per unit mass over displacement relative to a specified reference point. Another frozen DOF is a rotational motion DOF associated with rotation about the long axis of the molecule. This is the result of the allowed value of energy associated with the DOF being quantified. An increase in the energy difference between the energy states, or a decrease in the object temperature, may decrease the number of energy states accessible to the object, which may decrease the average energy associated with the DOF, i.e., decrease the specific heat capacity of the DOF.

Herein, the temperature at which the expected energy associated with the DOF is not negligible is referred to as the "transition temperature". At temperatures above the transition temperature of the specified DOF, the DOF may be considered an EDOF. Note that as the media temperature gradually rises above the transition temperature, the expected energy of the object in a particular DOF gradually increases. At sufficiently large temperatures above the transition temperature, the expected energy of an object in a particular DOF approaches the energy predicted by the equipartition theorem. Thus, the "degree of excitation" or "DE" can be quantified in terms of the ratio of the actual expected energy of an object in a particular DOF at a particular temperature to the expected thermal energy associated with that DOF predicted by the equipartition theorem. By default, the transition temperature corresponds to a temperature at which the degree of excitation is 0.01.

There are several ways in which the number of EDOFs or DE of DOFs may be modified by embodiments of the present invention.

For example, consider a working material comprising at least one polarized molecule, wherein the polarization may be magnetic or electric, and wherein the polarization may be permanent or induced by an externally applied electric or magnetic field. In this case, an externally applied electric or magnetic field may produce a moment about the centroid of the molecule whose polarization axis is not aligned with the electric field. The moment is generated by the volume force per unit mass acting on the part of the molecule in a position and orientation that results in a non-uniform line of action of the volume force. In some embodiments, for simplicity, the externally applied field may be substantially uniform in magnitude and direction across the working material. In other embodiments, this need not be the case. Rotation of the polarization axis may change the potential energy of the molecule, since a moment acts on the polarized molecule whose polarization axis is not aligned with the externally applied field. The rotation may be expressed in terms of rotation about two axes perpendicular to each other and the polarization axis. Thus, an externally applied electric or magnetic field has added two vibrational modes to the DOF of the molecule. Since the dynamic DOF of these vibrational modes is excited by default in this scenario, only two additional DOFs, i.e. DOFs associated with the rotational potential of the polarized molecules, are added. In effect, the BFGA is configured to create or modify a rotational potential. In some embodiments, the strength of the externally applied field may be configured in a way that excites two further DOFs, i.e. becomes EDOF, or in a way that modifies the DE of the two EDOFs. An increased DE of the DOF may increase the specific heat capacity of the working material and decrease the ratio of the specific heat capacity. A specific method of modifying the specific heat capacity is employed in the embodiment shown in fig. 5A to 5N. Accordingly, the working material in fig. 5A to 5N comprises at least one polarizable, polyatomic molecule whose DE of DOF can be modified in the manner described above. For example, the working material may be air. Note that, for example, air includes diatomic nitrogen and oxygen.

For some embodiments, an externally applied electric or magnetic field may also be employed to modify the DE of an existing DOF or EDOF. For example, modifying the strength of an externally applied field may change the shape or size of an object, such as a polyatomic or diatomic molecule. For example, an increase or decrease in the strength of an externally applied electric field may increase or decrease the separation distance between atoms of a diatomic molecule. In some embodiments, modifying the externally applied field can modify the stiffness of the interatomic vibrational modes in the molecule. This may be the case, for example, when the interatomic potential is a non-parabolic function of the separation distance relative to the equilibrium separation distance between atoms, i.e., a non-Hooke function. The change in separation distance or the change in stiffness may be configured to change the transition temperature of the DOF associated with the interatomic vibrational mode, which in turn may modify the DE of the DOF of the vibrational mode. The modified DE of the DOF may also modify the specific heat capacity of the working material.

In another example, the BFGA may be used to modify the DE of at least one existing translation DOF, or to create and modify the DE of a new translation DOF. For example, the BFGA device may be configured to create translational vibration patterns for existing translational DOFs. For example, neutrally charged objects contained in the working material may be temporarily ionized. Several methods can be used to achieve this. For example, in a field desorption method, a local electric field of sufficiently strong magnitude is able to remove electrons from molecules. These localized electric fields may be generated by electric field amplification devices or "EFAA". The EFAA may include carbon nanotubes or conductors, such as metals, with fine protrusions on the surface, where chemical etching may be used to create thin protrusions, for example. These EFAAs may be configured to generate a local electric field of sufficient strength to ionize adjacent molecules in the working material when connected to an external voltage source, such as a battery. In some embodiments, a capacitor is placed between the external voltage source and the EFAA. In this case, electrons removed from monoatomic or polyatomic molecules of the working material may be stored in the capacitor by a strong electric field near the EFAA. Therefore, by reducing the external voltage applied to the capacitor, it is possible to return electrons to the working material when necessary.

In some embodiments, the combined ionization and neutralization process irreversibly consumes a negligible amount of external energy. In other embodiments, there is a net energy loss associated with the ionization and neutralization process, for example, due to heat loss, resistive losses, tunneling losses. Several methods are available to mitigate such losses. For example, a motor or generator may be placed between the capacitor and the EFAA, or the battery and the capacitor. Thus, any current flow resulting from the neutralization process may be converted into useful work or electrical energy, which may be used or stored in a battery or capacitor for later use, wherein the later use case may include a subsequent ionization process. In some embodiments, for example, at least a portion of the energy released during the neutralization or ionization process may be recovered by an energy recovery or storage mechanism, such as a motor, battery, capacitor, or inductor, and subsequently applied to the ionization or neutralization process, or used to perform useful work.

Consider the following example in the context of the method described in fig. 4. In some embodiments, such as the previous embodiments involving ionization of an object within the working material, the ionization of the working material may increase the pressure of the working material even though the specific heat capacity is increased. The increase in pressure results from the electrostatic repulsion between the equally charged objects that ionize the working material. During the entire ionization process, i.e., during changes in the activation level of the BFGA, the BFGA increases the potential energy of the body of working material and thus performs work on the working material, resulting in an increase in the pressure of the working material even though the specific heat capacity is increased. This is different from the situation shown in fig. 4, where it is assumed that the change in the activation level of the BFGA between station 1 and station 2 does not work on the working material and no heat or mass is transferred between the working material and the external environment, resulting in a pressure drop. The work consumed by the BFGA during the ionization process, i.e., the work the BFGA performs on the working material, is referred to as "additional work a".

In addition to the work consumed by the BFGA during the ionization process, the subsequent compression of the ionized working material may consume more work than the adiabatic compression 11 depicted in fig. 4 from station 2 to station 3. The difference between the work done on the ionised working material during the adiabatic compression process between station 2 and station 3 shown in figure 4 and the work done on the neutral working material during adiabatic compression 11 is denoted as "additional work B". Note that the compression device does additional work B on the working material. During a subsequent reduction in the activation level of the BFGA, at least a portion of the sum of the additional work a and the additional work B may be recovered. Compression of the working material has increased the charge density within the inner region 34. In other words, additional work B is stored in the form of potential energy within the inner region 34. This greater potential energy within the inner region 34, as well as the original potential energy associated with the additional work a, may be used to do electrical work during the deionization process due to the additional work B. For example, the current flow during the deionization or neutralization process may be used to drive a generator. The electrical work is less than or equal to the sum of the aforementioned additional work a and B. In this manner, at least a portion of the additional work consumed by the BFGA and the compression device may be recovered during the deionization process.

Note that the aforementioned ionization means can be described as a volumetric force per unit mass induction means. However, for general considerations, such a device will be described as a BFGA, even if a volumetric force per unit mass acts between the various bodies of working material due to the action of the ionization device. In addition to the foregoing field desorption methods, a wide variety of other ionization devices and methods may be used, such as photoionization, electron capture ionization, or electron bombardment ionization. The latter means are present in the light discharge vessel, for example.

Due to ionization, previously neutral molecules in the working material are charged. In some embodiments, the molecules are negatively charged on average due to ionization, while in other embodiments, the molecules are positively charged on average. In some embodiments, the molecules are neutrally charged on average. For example, the working material may include positively charged ions and free electrons. In some embodiments, the working material may be described as a plasma. Note that the plasma may also be average charged neutral. Due to the charge of the respective objects and the infinite range of coulomb potentials in the working material, there is a non-negligible volumetric force per unit mass acting between the objects. The ionization device may be configured in such a way that these volumetric forces result in translational potential energy, which may add three vibration modes to the DOF of the working material. Since in this example scenario, the three translational DOFs of these vibrational modes have been excited with the object neutral, these additional vibrational modes can contribute three additional EDOFs for the working material, i.e., the three DOFs associated with the translational potential DOFs of vibrational modes of interatomic or intermolecular or inter-object potentials. In other embodiments, the objects in the working material may be charged prior to interaction with the ionization device. In this case, the ionization device may be configured to increase or decrease the amount of charge of the object of working material. Note that the term "ionization" as used herein denotes a modification of the amount of charge of an object. Modification of the amount of charge of the objects in the working material may modify the stiffness associated with interatomic or intermolecular or interarticular potentials. As mentioned, the change in stiffness may change the transition temperatures associated with the respective translational potential DOFs of the object, which may change the DE of these DOFs. Creating a new EDOF, eliminating or neutralizing an existing EDOF, or modifying an existing DE of DOF may be employed by embodiments of the present invention to artificially and deliberately modify the specific heat capacity of the working material.

The foregoing examples include the creation or modification of an inter-object translational potential, i.e., the introduction or modification of a volumetric force per unit mass acting between the centers of mass of objects within the working material. In these or other embodiments, there may be rotational potential between the objects. This may be the case, for example, when the ionization of the object coincides with the polarization of the object. In this case, the ionized object may carry a permanent polarization, such as water molecules. As mentioned, the ionized objects can also be polarized separately by an externally applied field.

In some embodiments, a translational potential may be established between the external device and the object in the working material. In this case, the external device and the device containing the working material, i.e., the sleeve device, are configured in the following manner: the translational potential of the aforementioned object may vary a sufficient amount within the mean free path of the object within the working material. This ensures that the energy of the objects in the momentary translational potential can be considered to be the micro DOF of the respective object, as opposed to the macro state of a part of the working material, i.e. a large number of neighboring objects. To this end, the BFGA may be inserted or placed in the working material as follows: a sufficient spatial change in the potential energy of the body of working material interacting with the BFGA occurs over a length that is less than or equal to an order of magnitude of the mean free path of the body in the working material.

In another example, the BFGA may include several thin, parallel cylindrical tubes located within the working material. The cylindrical tubes are evenly spaced with their central axes intersecting the nodes of the square pattern in a plane perpendicular to the central axes. The separation distance of the cylindrical tubes perpendicular to the long axis is of the order of the mean free path of the object of working material. There is an insulated charge aggregate embedded in the cylindrical tube, the insulated charge aggregate configured to exert a volumetric force per unit mass on an object of working material in the vicinity thereof. The charge aggregate may be a conductor, for example a metal such as copper, which is surrounded by an insulating material, for example glass or plastic. For example, the cylindrical tube may be a carbon nanotube or a wire. In some embodiments, the volumetric force per unit mass may be configured to attract the object to the surface of the cylindrical tube. Thus, the BFGA may be considered to be configured to adsorb or attract objects of the working material. In the case where the object is a polarizable or polarized molecule, the charge aggregates embedded within the cylindrical tube along the length of the cylindrical tube result in a radially reduced electric field strength that can polarize the molecule and/or attract the polarized molecule to the surface of the cylindrical tube. Note that the aforementioned radial reduction is measured with respect to the central axis of the cylindrical tube. In some embodiments, the charge aggregates within the cylindrical tube may have the same charge polarity and density. In some embodiments, the charge aggregates of adjacent cylinders may have opposite polarities such that the net charge of the BFGA is substantially zero. In some embodiments, the net charge of the BFGA need not be zero, and the charge polarity of adjacent cylindrical tubes may be the same. Since the spacing between the cylindrical tubes of the BFGA is of the order of the mean free path of the objects in the working material, the volumetric force per unit mass and associated potential wells have added at least two translational vibration modes to the objects in the working material. More specifically, two translational potential DOFs associated with vibration modes along two axes perpendicular to the long axis of the cylinder tube and to each other have been added to the total number of DOFs of the object within the work material. In some embodiments, this may increase the number of EDOFs or modify the DE of the existing DOF of the object of working material for some configurations or applications.

In some embodiments, the charge aggregates within the cylindrical tube may also be configured to produce a spatially periodic varying potential field along the length of the cylindrical tube, where the period is of the order of the mean free path of the objects in the working material. For example, where the object is a polarizable molecule, the cylindrical tube may comprise several insulated charge aggregates along the length of the cylindrical tube, wherein the charge polarity of adjacent charge aggregates alternates along the length of the tube. In this way, an electric field strength gradient is created along the length of the tube, which modifies the strength and the alternating direction of the volumetric force per unit mass acting on the object travelling along the length of the cylindrical tube. This results in a periodically varying potential field travelling along the length of the cylindrical tube as experienced by the object. The amplitude and spatial variation of the potential field may be configured to add translational potential energy DOF associated with the vibration mode along an axis along the length of the cylindrical tube. In some embodiments, the amount of charge in the charge collection can be modified in time. In this way, the number of DE or EDOF of DOFs of the object in the work material can be deliberately modified in due time. In other embodiments, the cylindrical tube may be inserted and removed from the working material. In a subset of such embodiments, the volume of working material may remain constant during insertion or removal of the BFGA.

In some embodiments, the aforementioned volumetric force per unit mass and associated potential field need not be generated by a dedicated charge aggregate. Instead, existing forces, such as van der waals forces, acting between the molecules of the BFGA and the object of the working material may be employed to generate the required potential field. For example, van der waals forces or dipole-dipole interaction forces may exist between the molecules of the aforementioned cylindrical tube and the body of working material. The spacing between the cylinder tubes may be configured in the following manner: a sufficient portion of the objects in the working material are located within the potential fields associated with these interactions and a sufficient change in the potential energy of the objects can occur in the mean free path of the objects within the working material. In some embodiments, the spacing between adjacent cylindrical tubes may be as small as: the DE of the translational DOF is reduced, i.e., the transition temperatures of the three translational DOF associated with translation of the object in the three orthogonal cartesian directions are increased.

The previous paragraphs have described how embodiments of the present invention can employ BFGA in order to artificially and deliberately modify the number of DE or EDOF of existing DOFs of objects in the work material.

There are a number of ways in which the aforementioned volumetric force per unit mass can be generated. Volumetric forces may arise from the presence of a physical or conventional potential field gradient. One such example is the force generated by the gradient of the electrical potential. For example, an element of the medium may be configured to be charged. In the context of a medium, for example, the term "element" refers to a constituent part of the medium, such as a sub-molecular particle, a molecule, or a different or specific collection of molecules. In the case of a gas, for example, the molecules may be positively or negatively charged ions. The medium may also comprise a collection of mobile electrons or holes. Note that the collection may be contained in a solid, such as electrons contained in a metal conductor, or the collection may be described as a gas. By applying an electric field in the reservoir, a volume force per unit mass can be generated on the charged elements of the medium inside the reservoir. For example, in the case of a negatively charged object, the electric field may be generated by: positive charges are embedded in the insulating material in the vicinity of or at the medium containing the negatively charged object, i.e. the working material. These positive charges generate an attractive volumetric force per unit mass to the negatively charged moving objects.

For other implementations, it may not be possible or convenient to use, purchase, or create media with moving charges. In this case, elements of the medium, such as air molecules, may be polarized by applying an electric field, or these elements may already have an intrinsic polarization, as in the case of polar molecules, such as water molecules. These polarized elements may experience volumetric forces when placed in an electric field gradient. Note that the magnitude of the force depends on, among other parameters, the orientation of the polarization axis relative to the electric field. Thus, the electric field may be configured to generate a volumetric force per unit mass to polar elements in the medium in the reservoir, and to polarize elements in the medium if necessary. The application of a suitable electric field may be accomplished in a variety of ways, such as the embedding of a static charge in the insulating material as previously described, wherein the location and magnitude of the charge is configured to produce a desired electric field gradient. For example, an alternating positive and negative insulative electrostatic charge aggregate may be placed at or near the working material.

Magnetism may also be used to generate the volumetric force. The media may include diamagnetic, paramagnetic, or ferromagnetic elements. When magnetized, the individual elements in the medium may form magnetic dipoles, or the elements may already have intrinsic magnetic dipoles, such as electrons. These magnetic dipoles can experience volumetric forces when placed in a magnetic field with a non-zero curl or gradient. Note that the magnitude of the volumetric force is a function of, among other parameters, the orientation of the magnetic dipole with respect to the local magnetic field. Thus, the external magnetic field may be configured to generate a volumetric force per unit mass to the magnetized elements in the medium in the reservoir, and if necessary to magnetize the elements in the medium. The magnetic field may be generated by a ferromagnetic or other at least momentarily magnetized element, or by a current flowing through an electromagnet, among other methods.

Volumetric forces per unit mass can also arise from inertial effects. For example, the working material may be subject to acceleration in an inertial system. This results in an acceleration of the working material, i.e. the elements of the object, relative to the reservoir containing the working material. Acceleration has the same effect as a volumetric force per unit mass acting on an element of the medium relative to the reservoir. The inertial force can be generated by linear acceleration, i.e. the movement of the storage body along a straight line in the inertial system. The inertial forces can also be generated by angular acceleration, i.e. the movement of the storage body along a curved path. In general, inertial forces may be generated by any accelerated motion in the inertial system. Note that, in the present embodiment, the centripetal acceleration varies linearly with the radius. If a substantially uniform volumetric force per unit mass of the medium is desired, the depicted device may be located at a larger radius, where the radial dimension of the device is only a fraction of the radius. For example, the storage body may be subjected to large inertial accelerations, which may cause large effective volumetric forces per unit mass acting on the body of the medium. When the volumetric force is sufficiently large and the density of the objects in the reservoir is sufficiently small, the inertial volumetric force per unit mass may produce a vibration mode or translational potential DOF associated with each object in the reservoir. In this case, for some embodiments, the potential DOF may add one additional EDOF, or change the DE of an existing DOF, where the DOF is associated with the potential energy of an object of working material moving in a direction parallel to the direction of the volumetric force per unit mass. In some embodiments, DE of more than one DOF may be modified in this manner.

Embodiments employing other types of volumetric forces per unit mass or combinations thereof are within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

As mentioned, the specific heat capacity at constant volume or at constant pressure can be modified by changing the DE of at least one DOF of at least one object in the working material. For an isolated reservoir at constant volume, a change in specific heat capacity at constant volume can change the temperature of the working material, and the ratio of specific heat capacity at constant pressure to specific heat capacity at constant volume can be changed, with other conditions unchanged. According to some embodiments of the invention, the temperature change may be used to reduce the temperature of the working material. Such temperature reduction may be useful, for example, in applications involving refrigeration.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of some embodiments of the present invention. The illustrated embodiment 60 is cylindrically symmetric about an axis parallel to the Y-axis and coincident with the center of the embodiment 60. Thus, the outer surface 85 is in the shape of a tapered cylinder.

Embodiment 60 includes a channel 62 having an interior surface 87 between a first opening 63 and a second opening 68, wherein the channel includes a first constriction 64, a first expansion 65, a second constriction 66, and a second expansion 67. The cross-sectional geometry of the channel 62 is circular when viewed along the Y-direction. Note that the terms "shrink" and "expand" refer to the size of the radius of an axially symmetric channel. Note that for other embodiments or other operating conditions, the channel radius or geometry may change in a different manner as a function of position along the Y-axis, or may be configured differently. For example, in other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry of the channel 62 may be annular or ring-shaped. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry of the outer surface 85 or channel 62 may be square or rectangular. In some embodiments, for example, the cross-sectional geometry of the channel 62 may change from square to circular along the positive Y-direction.

The bulk material 61 may comprise a metal such as aluminum or titanium. The bulk material 61 may also comprise a ceramic. In some embodiments, bulk material 61 comprises a composite, such as carbon fiber or glass fiber. Bulk material 61 may also comprise an electrical insulator, such as glass.

Note that the devices housed within the interior surface 87 and the exterior surface 85 need not be solid materials, but may contain open spaces so as not to unnecessarily increase the mass or cost of the embodiment 60.

In fig. 6, the embodiment 60 is moved at a constant speed magnitude and direction relative to the working material. The upstream working material is aligned with the Y-axis on average, i.e., pointing from the left side of the page to the right side of the page, relative to the velocity direction of embodiment 60. For clarity of description, it is assumed that the upstream working material is constant in space and time with respect to the velocity magnitude and direction of embodiment 60. In other modes of operation, the upstream relative velocity magnitude and direction need not be constant in space or time. For example, the upstream relative velocity magnitude may increase or decrease as a function of time.

For example, the working material may be a gas such as air, helium, or nitrogen. The working material may also be a liquid, such as water. Note that water is compressible, although it is generally considered incompressible. In the embodiments shown in fig. 6 to 18, the working material is considered to be an ideal gas for the sake of simplicity. In fig. 6 and 10, the working material is considered to be a diatomic ideal gas for clarity of description. In the embodiment of fig. 6-18, the working material may be any suitable material, where suitable conditions are described below.

In the configuration shown in fig. 6, the working material upstream of embodiment 60, e.g., at station 69, moves relative to embodiment 60 faster than the speed of sound in the working material. Both the first constricted portion 64 and the first expanded portion 65 of the passage 62 are configured to compress the working material flowing through the passage 62 in the positive Y-direction. The first throat is defined as the partial passage 62 having the smallest cross-sectional area of the passage 62 between the first constricted portion 64 and the first expanded portion 65 when viewed in the Y direction. The average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 60 at the first throat is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this embodiment, upstream, e.g., at station 71 or 70, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound, and also downstream, e.g., at station 72, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound within the working material. In some embodiments, there may be a shock wave located between the first throat and the station 72. In other words, the relative flow velocity of the working material downstream of the first throat may be faster than the speed of sound within the working material, wherein throughout the shock wave the relative flow velocity decreases to a slower speed than the speed of sound. In this embodiment, the compression of the working material between stations 71 and 72 may be described as a substantially adiabatic compression. In other embodiments, compression may include heat transfer from or to the working material. In other embodiments, the compression may be performed at least in part by an axial compressor, such as that found in conventional jet engines. In other embodiments, for example, the compression may be performed at least in part by a centrifugal compressor. In some such embodiments, the working material upstream of the embodiments may move relative to the embodiments at a speed slower than the speed of sound in the working material. Both the second constriction 66 and the second expansion 67 of the channel 62 are configured to expand the working material flowing through the channel 62 in the positive Y-direction. The second throat is defined as the portion of the passage 62 having the smallest cross-sectional area of the passage 62 between the second constriction 66 and the second expansion 67, when viewed in the Y direction. The average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 60 at the second throat is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this embodiment, upstream, such as at station 73, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound, and downstream, such as at station 74, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound within the working material. In this embodiment, the expansion of the working material between stations 73 and 74 may be described as a substantially adiabatic expansion. In other embodiments, the expansion may include heat transfer from or to the working material. In other embodiments, the expansion may be performed at least in part by an axial flow turbine, such as that found in conventional jet engines. In other embodiments, for example, the expansion may be performed at least in part by a centrifugal turbine. In some such embodiments, the working material downstream of the embodiments may move relative to the embodiments at a speed slower than the speed of sound in the working material.

Dashed lines 83 and 84 indicate stagnation flow lines that are incident on the leading edge of embodiment 60 or originate at the trailing edge of embodiment 60. Thus, the flow lines 83 and 84 are part of a flow surface or flow tube that separates the working material flowing around the embodiment 60 from the working material flowing through the channel 62 of the embodiment 60. In this embodiment, the flow tube is circular when viewed along the Y direction.

A volumetric force per unit mass generating device or "BFGA" 75 is located adjacent to the channel 62. The BFGA 75 is configured to be capable of applying at least one volumetric force per unit mass to an object, such as an atom or molecule, of the working material. In this embodiment, the magnitude of the volume force may be adjusted. BFGA 75 includes a first charge aggregate 76 and a second charge aggregate 80. In the configuration shown, the first charge aggregate 76 is positively charged and the second charge aggregate 80 is negatively charged. In other embodiments, the polarity of the charges in the charge aggregates may be reversed, i.e. the first charge aggregate is negatively charged and the second charge aggregate is positively charged. In some embodiments, the polarity of the charges in the two charge assemblies is the same, i.e., the two charge assemblies may be positively charged, or the two charge assemblies may be negatively charged. In some such embodiments, the first charge aggregate is indistinguishable from the second charge aggregate. In such embodiments, the electric field strength within the channel 62 is sufficiently strong in the vicinity of the charge aggregate so that the specific heat capacity of the working material within the channel 62 takes a desired value.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 6, the amount of charge in the charge aggregate can be adjusted by charging or discharging or reducing the charge in the charge aggregate. In such embodiments, the charge aggregate may include a conductor that can facilitate accumulation of charge or reduction of an amount of charge contained in the conductor. In some timely cases, in some such implementations, the amount of charge in the charge aggregate may be configured to be zero. The charging process may include applying a voltage difference across the first charge aggregate 76 and the second charge aggregate 80. For example, the voltage difference may be provided by a battery. The first charge aggregate 76 and the second charge aggregate 80 are electrically insulated from each other and from portions of the bulk material 61. An electrical conductor, such as an insulated copper wire, connects the first charge aggregate 76 to a voltage source and the second charge aggregate 80 to the voltage source. These electrical conductors are not shown. The bulk material 61 is an electrical insulator between the first charge aggregate 76 and the channel 62 and between the second charge aggregate 80 and the channel 62. In practice, the first charge aggregate 76 and the second charge aggregate 80 can be considered to be opposing plates of a capacitor, wherein the dielectric between these plates comprises the working material and the relevant portion of the bulk material 61 between the first charge aggregate 76 and the second charge aggregate 80. In the illustrated embodiment, the first charge aggregate 76 and the second charge aggregate 80 are configured in the following manner: wherein a majority of the electric field lines pass through the working material within the channel 62 when the first charge aggregate 76 and the second charge aggregate 80 are oppositely charged. To this end, first charge aggregate 76 and second charge aggregate 80 may include several insulated conductors. These conductors may be, for example, wires, and may be arranged in parallel to the Y axis within the first charge aggregate 76. This may be used to prevent or reduce any undesired charge redistribution within first charge aggregate 76 and second charge aggregate 80.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, and as described below, during nominal operation, the effect of the BFGA 75 is an increase in the specific heat capacity of the working material in the channel 62 near the BFGA 75 at a constant pressure. In the embodiment and method of operation shown in fig. 6, the pressure of the working material is constant for simplicity, with the specific heat capacity increasing or decreasing at a constant pressure throughout the working material. An increase in specific heat capacity at constant pressure corresponds to a decrease in temperature and an increase in density of the working material. In fig. 6, this increase in specific heat capacity at constant pressure occurs between stations 70 and 71. In this embodiment, the specific heat capacity at constant pressure is substantially constant between stations 71 and 72. Between stations 72 and 73, the specific heat capacity at constant pressure is reduced to the original value at station 70 or station 69.

Indeed, the transition from station 70 to station 71 may be described as isobaric compression. In other embodiments, or other boundary conditions, or other methods of operation, the pressure need not be constant throughout the change in specific heat capacity. For example, the pressure may be increased or decreased during an increase or decrease in specific heat capacity at a constant pressure. For example, work may be done on the working material by a compression or expansion device such as a contraction or expansion of a pipe or passage 62 or an axial turbine or compressor, or heat or mass may be added or removed from the working material. In the simplified embodiment shown in fig. 6, there is no heat or mass exchange between the working material within the channels 62 of the embodiment 60 and the rest of the embodiment 60.

The BFGA is configured to change a temperature of the working material due to interaction of the working material with a volumetric force per unit mass generated by the BFGA. To explain this concept, consider the following scenario: wherein the density of the working material is constant throughout BFGA activation, i.e., an increase in the volumetric force per unit mass acting on an object, e.g., an atom or molecule, of the working material. In such a scenario, no work, heat, or mass is exchanged between the work material and the environment. The volumetric force per unit mass generated by the BFGA may be configured to increase the average potential energy of the object in the working material. The increase in the mean potential energy of the object increases the specific heat capacity of the working material. Since in this scenario the total energy in the working material is constant throughout the BFGA activation, the increase in the average potential energy of the objects reduces the average kinetic energy of the objects in the working material. This corresponds to a decrease in the pressure of the working material and explains the decrease in the temperature of the working material in such an isochoric scenario, i.e., a scenario in which the density or specific volume is constant. In this way, the BFGA may increase the specific heat capacity of the working material and decrease the temperature.

Thus, it is believed that the activation of the BFGA artificially cools the working material. Also in this scenario, the deactivation of the BFGA may be considered as artificially heating the working material. The magnitude of the mean potential energy of the object in the working material can be adjusted by BFGA. Since no energy is exchanged with the external environment in such a scenario, the average potential energy or potential energy "reservoir" of the object can be configured as an artificial heat sink or artificial heat source through the action of the BFGA.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the activation level of the BFGA controls the strength of the volumetric force per unit mass, which in turn adjusts the average potential energy of objects within the working material, which may be used to control the temperature of the working material over a range of initial temperatures of the working material.

Note that in the isobaric scenario shown in fig. 6, work is done on the working material throughout the activation of the BFGA, and the density increases while the temperature decreases.

Note that for simplicity, in the embodiments shown in fig. 6 and 10, it is assumed that the change in the activation level of the BFGA does not consume work. In some embodiments, the activation of the BFGA may consume work. In some such embodiments, at least a portion of the work may be recovered during deactivation of the BFGA.

As will be explained later, in some embodiments or in some configurations, activation of the BFGA may also reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material. In this case, the roles of activation and deactivation of the BFGA are reversed compared to the alternative scenario.

In other embodiments, the amount of charge contained in the charge aggregate is constant over time. In such embodiments, the charge aggregates may include electrons, ions, or other charged particles embedded within an electrical insulator. In some such embodiments, a separate voltage source for adjusting the amount of charge in the charge ensemble is not required.

In other embodiments, the first charge assembly and the second charge assembly may be located in a vessel positioned within the central passage upstream and downstream of the first throat. For example, a positively charged container may be located approximately at station 71 and a negatively charged container may be located approximately at station 72. In some embodiments, the container is insulating and streamlined.

In some embodiments, the charge aggregate is not electrically insulated from the working material. In other words, the conductor or charged plate of the charge aggregate may be in direct physical contact with the working material.

Figure 6 also shows a graph of an approximation of the physical parameter as a function of position along the Y-direction.

A horizontal axis 92 parallel to the Y-axis indicates the position in the Y-direction where the corresponding physical parameter is measured. The vertical axis 93, parallel to the X-axis, shows the value of the physical parameter. Note that the scale of the vertical axis 93 is different for different physical parameters, i.e. different lines shown in the graph.

Line 94 shows the change in the magnitude of the average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 60 as a function of position in the Y direction. Line 95 shows the magnitude of the working material at station 69 relative to the average speed of embodiment 60 for reference. Note that the magnitude of the working material at station 74 relative to the average velocity of embodiment 60 is greater than at station 69.

Line 96 shows the change in specific heat capacity of the working material at constant pressure as a function of position along the Y direction. Line 97 shows the value of specific heat capacity at constant pressure at station 69 for reference.

Line 98 shows the change in temperature of the working material as a function of position along the Y direction. Line 99 shows the temperature value at station 69 for reference. Note that the temperature at station 74 is lower than the temperature at station 69. Thus, the embodiment 60 may be considered as being used to cool or refrigerate the working material flowing through the channel 62.

Line 100 shows the change in the static pressure of the working material as a function of position along the Y direction. Line 101 shows the value of the static pressure at station 69 for reference.

Some embodiments of the present invention produce a net mechanical work output. In the illustrated embodiment, the mechanical work is used to accelerate the work material as indicated by the greater average relative velocity 94 of the work material at station 74 as compared to station 69. The associated thrust force may be used to counteract at least a portion of the drag force acting on embodiment 60 and any devices connected thereto due to movement through the working material. In such applications, the embodiment 60 may operate in a manner similar to a conventional ramjet engine.

The mechanical work may also be converted to electrical energy by means of a generator. For example, the embodiment 60 may be rigidly connected to a support arm that is rigidly connected to a drive shaft of the generator, wherein the shaft axis (draft axis) is parallel to the X-axis and the center of the embodiment 60 is offset relative to the shaft axis in the YZ plane in the following manner: the thrust on embodiment 60 applies a moment about the shaft axis. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may also be considered for applications involving the generation or consumption of electrical power. In another similar configuration, embodiments of the present invention may also be rigidly connected to the tip of a conventional propeller such as a helicopter main rotor, a conventional fixed wing aircraft propeller, or a marine propeller. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may be used to provide at least a portion of the torque required to propel the propeller blades through the working material.

Fig. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the embodiment 60 shown in fig. 6, as viewed along the Y-direction. The first charge aggregate 76 is arranged in an annular arc around the channel 62, wherein the second charge aggregate 80 mirrors the first charge aggregate 76 in a plane parallel to the YZ-plane and coinciding with the central axis of the channel 62.

Fig. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment shown in fig. 8 has a cross-section that is the same as or similar to the cross-section when the embodiment 60 shown in fig. 6 is viewed along the Z-direction. The angular range of the first charge aggregate 76 and the second charge aggregate 80 in fig. 8 is smaller than the angular range of the first charge aggregate 76 and the second charge aggregate 80 in fig. 7.

Fig. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment shown in fig. 9 has a cross-section that is the same as or similar to the cross-section when the embodiment 60 shown in fig. 6 is viewed along the Z-direction. In this example, the outer surface 85 and the inner surface 87 are depicted as rectangular in shape.

Fig. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention. Some features of the apparatus shown in fig. 10 and some principles of operation of the apparatus share similarities with the apparatus shown in the other figures and in particular fig. 6, and therefore will not be described in the context of fig. 10 in the same detail, and vice versa. The illustrated embodiment 110 is symmetrical in the form of a cylinder about an axis parallel to the Y-axis and coincident with the center of the embodiment 110. Thus, the outer surface 139 is in the shape of a tapered cylinder.

Embodiment 110 includes an annular channel 142 having inner and outer devices 113, 112 and outer and inner interior surfaces 140, 141 between first and second openings 125, 134, wherein channel 142 includes a first stage including first constriction 126, first expansion 127, second constriction 128, and second expansion 129, and a second stage including third constriction 130, third expansion 131, fourth constriction 132, and fourth expansion 133. Other embodiments of the invention may include three such stages. While other embodiments may include four such stages. Other embodiments may include more stages.

The bulk material 111 may comprise a suitable material similar to the bulk material 61.

In fig. 10, embodiment 110 is moving at a constant velocity magnitude and direction relative to the working material. The upstream working material is aligned with the Y-axis on average, i.e., pointing from the left side of the page to the right side of the page, relative to the velocity direction of embodiment 110. For clarity of description, it is assumed that the upstream working material is constant in space and time with respect to the velocity magnitude and direction of embodiment 110. In other modes of operation, the upstream relative velocity magnitude and direction need not be constant in space or time.

In the configuration shown in fig. 10, the working material upstream of the embodiment 110, e.g., at station 155, moves relative to the embodiment 110 faster than the speed of sound in the working material. Both the first constriction 126 and the first expansion 127 of the channel 142 are configured to compress the working material flowing through the channel 142 in the positive Y-direction. The first throat is defined as a partial passage 142 having a smallest cross-sectional area of the passage 142 between the first constricted part 126 and the first expanded part 127 when viewed in the Y direction. The average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 110 at the first throat is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this embodiment, upstream, such as at station 156 or 155, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound, and also downstream, such as at station 157, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound within the working material. As explained in the context of embodiment 60, in some embodiments there may be a shockwave located between the first throat and the station 158. In this embodiment, the compression of the working material between stations 156 and 157 may be described as a substantially adiabatic compression.

Both the second constriction 128 and the second expansion 129 of the channel 142 are configured to expand the working material flowing through the channel 142 in the positive Y-direction. The second throat is defined as the partial passage 142 having the smallest cross-sectional area of the passage 142 between the second constriction 128 and the second expansion 129, when viewed in the Y direction. The average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 110 at the second throat is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this embodiment, upstream, e.g., at station 158, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound, and downstream, e.g., at station 159, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound within the working material. In this embodiment, the expansion of the working material between stations 158 and 159 may be described as a substantially adiabatic expansion. Since the properties of the working material at station 159 are similar to the properties of the working material at station 155, a second stage may be coupled to the end of the first stage, wherein the second stage is configured in a similar manner as the first stage. Similarly, a plurality of successive stages may be connected to the end of the second stage, forming a cascade of stages.

Both the third constriction 130 and the third expansion 131 of the channel 142 are configured to compress the working material flowing through the channel 142 in the positive Y-direction. The third throat is defined as a partial passage 142 having a smallest sectional area of the passage 142 between the third constriction 130 and the third expansion 131 when viewed in the Y direction. The average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 110 at the third throat is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this embodiment, upstream, e.g., at station 159 or 160, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound, and further downstream, e.g., at station 161, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound within the working material. As explained in the context of embodiment 60, in some embodiments there may be a shock wave located between the third throat and the station 161. In this embodiment, the compression of the working material between stations 160 and 161 may be described as a substantially adiabatic compression.

Both the fourth constriction 132 and the fourth expansion 133 of the channel 142 are configured to expand the working material flowing through the channel 142 in the positive Y-direction. The fourth throat is defined as a partial passage 142 having a smallest cross-sectional area of the passage 142 between the fourth constriction 132 and the fourth expansion 133 when viewed in the Y direction. The average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 110 at the fourth throat is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this embodiment, upstream, e.g., at station 162, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound, and downstream, e.g., at station 163, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound within the working material. In this embodiment, the expansion of the working material between stations 162 and 163 may be described as a substantially adiabatic expansion.

Dashed lines 144 and 145 indicate stagnation flow lines that are incident on the leading edge of the embodiment 110 or originate at the trailing edge of the embodiment 110. Thus, the flow lines 144 and 145 are part of a flow surface or flow tube that separates the working material flowing around the embodiment 110 from the working material flowing through the channel 142 of the embodiment 110. In this embodiment, the flow tube is circular when viewed along the Y direction.

Note that the first and second stages of embodiment 110 are configured in a similar manner to embodiment 60 shown in fig. 6. Accordingly, the first BFGA 114 and the second BFGA 117 are located near the channel 142. The first BFGA 114 and the second BFGA 117 are configured to be capable of applying at least one volumetric force per unit mass to an object, e.g., an atom or molecule, of the working material. In this embodiment, the magnitude of the volume force may be adjusted. The first BFGA 114 includes a first ring-shaped charge aggregate 115 and a second ring-shaped charge aggregate 116. In some embodiments, the cross-section of the second charge aggregate 116 is circular when viewed along the Y direction. In the configuration shown, the first charge aggregate 115 is positively charged and the second charge aggregate 116 is negatively charged. Similarly, second BFGA 117 includes first ring charge aggregate 118 and second ring charge aggregate 122.

In principle, it may be considered that embodiment 110 includes a first stage similar to embodiment 60 and a second stage similar to embodiment 60 connected in series, wherein the stations of the first stage similar to station 74 of embodiment 60 are equal to the stations of the second stage similar to station 69 of embodiment 60. This may further increase the magnitude of the temperature difference of the working material between station 163 and station 155 of embodiment 110 compared to the magnitude of the temperature difference of the working material between station 74 and station 69 of embodiment 60. Note that each stage may include an axial turbine or compressor, for example, as discussed in the context of embodiment 60.

FIG. 11 shows a plot of pressure versus specific volume for a subset of embodiments of the present invention for an exemplary method of operation. For example, fig. 11 may depict an exemplary method of operation of an embodiment similar to embodiment 110 shown in fig. 10. Therefore, the embodiment 110 will be used to explain the operation method shown in fig. 11 and vice versa. In this embodiment, the specific heat capacity of the working material at constant pressure increases because the body of working material is subjected to a sufficiently strong electric field of the BFGA. This is due to the polarization properties of the body of working material, the geometry and other material properties of the body of working material, and the volumetric force exerted by the BFGA on the body of working material, as will be explained below. The temperature and specific volume of the working material are reduced as a result of the increase in specific heat capacity at constant pressure. Due to the geometry of the channel 142, in the embodiment 110 used for this method of operation, the pressure remains constant throughout the process. Thus, the transition from station 155 to station 156 is isobaric compression 166. As mentioned, the transition from station 156 to station 157 is adiabatic compression 167. Note that the specific heat capacity at constant pressure remains substantially constant throughout the adiabatic compression or expansion process shown in fig. 11. As the objects of work material move from station 157 to station 158, they are no longer subjected to an electric field strength of sufficient magnitude. Thus, the specific heat capacity of the working material at constant pressure decreases throughout the transition from station 157 to station 158. The specific heat capacity at constant pressure at station 158 is substantially equal to the specific heat capacity at constant pressure at station 155. Similar to the transition from station 155 to station 156, in this embodiment, the transition from station 157 to station 158 may be described as isobaric expansion 168. In other embodiments, the transition from station 157 to station 158 need not be similar to the transition from station 155 to station 156. For example, in some embodiments, the transition from station 157 to station 158 may be isochoric compression. The transition from station 158 to station 159 is adiabatic expansion 169. Station 159 marks the end of the first phase and the beginning of the second phase. Thus, the transition from station 159 to station 160 is isobaric compression 171. The transition from station 160 to station 161 is adiabatic compression 172. The transition from station 161 to station 162 is isobaric expansion 173. The transition from station 162 to station 163 is adiabatic expansion 174. In some embodiments, the working material at station 163 is returned to station 155 substantially isobaric. When the thermodynamic cycle is run in reverse, with an initial station similar to station 163, a next station similar to station 162, and a penultimate station similar to station 155, embodiments of the present invention may be used to convert mechanical work into heat.

Note that the values along the axis of fig. 11 are arbitrary and are not intended to limit the present invention to a particular working material or method of operation. Other thermodynamic cycles employing artificial and intentional modifications of specific heat capacity at constant volume or pressure are within the scope of the invention.

Fig. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in fig. 10 when viewed along the Y-direction. As illustrated, the first charge aggregate 115 and the second charge aggregate 116 have a circular cross section when viewed along the Y direction.

Fig. 13 shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention. Some features of the apparatus shown in fig. 13 and some principles of operation of the apparatus share similarities with the apparatus shown in the other figures and in particular fig. 14, and therefore will not be described in the context of fig. 13 in the same detail, and vice versa.

The illustrated embodiment 190 is symmetrical in the form of a cylinder about an axis parallel to the Y-axis and coincident with the center of the embodiment 190. Thus, the outer surface 237 is in the shape of a tapered cylinder.

Embodiment 190 comprises an annular channel 240 having an inner means 193 and an outer means 192 and an outer inner surface 238 and an inner surface 239 between the first opening 222 and the second opening 232, wherein the channel 240 comprises a first constriction 223, a first expansion 225, a region of constant cross-sectional area 227 of the channel 240 when viewed in the Y-direction, an axial turbine 205, a second constriction 230 and a second expansion 231.

Bulk material 191 may comprise a suitable material similar to bulk material 61.

In fig. 13, the embodiment 190 is moved at a constant velocity magnitude and direction relative to the working material. The upstream work material is aligned with the Y-axis on average, i.e., pointing from the left side of the page to the right side of the page, relative to the velocity direction of embodiment 190. For clarity of description, it is assumed that the upstream working material is constant in space and time with respect to the velocity magnitude and direction of embodiment 190. In other modes of operation, the upstream relative velocity magnitude and direction need not be constant in space or time.

In the configuration shown in fig. 13, the working material upstream of the embodiment 190, e.g., at station 212, moves relative to the embodiment 190 faster than the speed of sound in the working material. Both the first constriction 223 and the first expansion 225 of the channel 240 are configured to compress the working material flowing through the channel 240 in the positive Y-direction. The first throat is defined as the partial passage 240 having the smallest cross-sectional area of the passage 240 between the first constriction 223 and the first expansion 225, when viewed in the Y direction. The average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 190 at the first throat is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this embodiment, upstream, e.g., at station 212, 213, or 214, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound, and also downstream, e.g., at station 215, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound within the working material. As explained in the context of embodiment 60, in some embodiments, there may be a shockwave between the first throat and the station 215. In this embodiment, the compression of the working material between stations 214 and 215 may be described as a substantially adiabatic compression.

The turbine 205, the second constriction 230 and the second expansion 231 of the channel 240 are all configured to expand the working material flowing through the channel 240 in the positive Y-direction. The second throat is defined as a partial channel 240 having a smallest sectional area of the channel 240 between the second constriction 230 and the second expansion 231, when viewed in the Y direction. The average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 190 at the second throat is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this embodiment, upstream, such as at station 216, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound, and downstream, such as at station 218, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound within the working material. In this embodiment, the expansion of the working material between stations 216 and 218 may be described as a substantially adiabatic expansion.

Dashed lines 242 and 243 indicate stagnation flow lines that are incident on the leading edge of the embodiment 190 or originate at the trailing edge of the embodiment 190. Thus, the flow lines 242 and 243 are part of a flow surface or flow tube that separates the working material flowing around the embodiment 190 from the working material flowing through the channel 240 of the embodiment 190. In this embodiment, the flow tube is circular when viewed along the Y direction.

The turbine 205 includes three stages, wherein each stage includes a disk of rotor blades, e.g., a first rotor disk 206 of a first stage, and a non-rotating disk of stator blades, e.g., a third stator disk 211 of a third stage, wherein the stator disks are downstream of the respective rotor disks of the stages. The stator disc is rigidly attached to an external device 192. The rotor disk is rigidly attached to the drive shaft 203. The drive shaft rotates about an axis of rotation 204 and drives the generator 200. In this embodiment, the generator 200 is rigidly attached to the inner device 193, which in turn is rigidly attached to the outer device 192.

In other embodiments, the turbine stage may include a pair of counter-rotating rotor disks. In such embodiments, a rotor disk rotating in a first direction may drive a first generator, and a rotor disk rotating in a second direction may drive a second generator. In some embodiments, each rotor disk may drive a separate generator. In some embodiments, at least one generator may be located in external device 192. In some embodiments, such as the one shown, at least one generator may be located in the internal device 193. In some embodiments, the generator may be located downstream of the rotor disk. A wide variety of other embodiments, configurations, and arrangements are within the scope of the invention.

The turbine 205 is configured to extract mechanical work from the slowly moving high pressure working material between the station 216 and the station 217. The mechanical work is converted to electrical energy by the generator 200 and transferred to the power electronics 199 via electrical conductors, such as electrical conductor 201.

Power electronics 199 are configured to provide power to ionization device 194. For example, the power electronics 199 may include a DC-DC voltage converter or a DC-AC converter, depending on the type of ionization device 199 being used. The power electronics 199 may also include an energy storage device, such as a battery, a capacitor, or an inductor.

The power electronics 199 may include an external power source or storage. In other words, in some embodiments, only a portion of the power provided by the generator 200 is provided to the ionization device 194. Similarly, in some embodiments, only a portion of the power provided to the ionization device 194 is provided by the generator 200. Note that the aforementioned portion may be zero. In some embodiments, there is no turbine 205 or generator 200 associated with embodiment 190 and the power required for the ionization device 194 is provided by a separate power source. Note that a separate power source may be configured to extract power from the working material. The separate power source may also provide power from a different power source, such as a battery or fuel.

The ionization device 194 is configured to ionize the working material. In this embodiment, the resulting plasma is substantially neutrally charged. In fig. 13, the plasma may be described as a non-thermal plasma. In other embodiments, this need not be the case.

In fig. 13, a dielectric barrier discharge (dielectric barrier discharge) is employed to ionize the working material. First conductor 195 is embedded within external device 192. First conductor 195 is axially symmetric about axis 204 and may comprise a conductive material, for example, a metal such as copper. Electrical conductor 197 electrically connects first conductor 195 to power electronics 199. The second conductor 196 is embedded within the internal device 193. Second conductor 196 is axially symmetric about axis 204 and may comprise a conductive material. An electrical conductor 198 electrically connects the second conductor 196 to the power electronics 199. In this embodiment, both first conductor 195 and second conductor 196 are electrically insulated from the working material in channel 240 by a dielectric. The dielectric is configured in particular in the following manner: wherein a potential difference between first conductor 195 and second conductor 196 generated by power electronics 199 results in ionization of the working material. For example, the dielectric may be a mica sheet, a resistor, or a semiconductor. In some embodiments, the aforementioned potential difference may vary periodically with time. In some embodiments, the aforementioned potential difference may be constant over time during nominal operation. In some embodiments, the magnitude of the root mean square potential difference may be controlled by the power electronics 199. The power electronics 199 are configured to control the portion of the atoms or molecules of the working material that pass through the channel 240 per unit time.

A wide variety of other configurations for dielectric barrier discharge ionization are available. For example, first conductor 195 may be in direct physical contact with the working material.

In other embodiments, other ionization methods may be employed. For example, the working material may be ionized by electron bombardment. Conventional glow discharge tubes also employ this method. In some embodiments, the working material is ionized by photoionization. For example, the working material may be ionized by a laser beam. In another example, the working material may be ionized by a helical element antenna. The helical element antenna may be located in the first constriction 223 near the first opening 222. Resonance effects within the plasma may be used to enhance ionization effects. There are a variety of devices and methods that can be used to ionize a working material.

Ionization of atoms or molecules of the working material consumes energy, i.e., ionization energy. The energy is provided by the power electronics 199 and any associated energy providing devices.

As a result of the ionization, there is a volumetric force per unit mass that acts between the individual ions of the ionized working material and the free electrons. The volumetric force may be electromagnetic in nature. The average potential energy of the body of working material may be increased for a sufficient strength of said volumetric force per unit mass and for a sufficiently small separation distance between adjacent atoms or molecules of the working material. In other words, the volumetric force per unit mass between atoms, molecules, ions, or electrons of the working material may result in a potential energy associated with the object within the working material. In some embodiments, the potential energy is translational in nature, i.e., associated with a separation distance between adjacent objects within the working material. In some embodiments, the potential energy is rotational in nature, i.e., associated with the orientation of a particular object within the working material relative to a local electric or magnetic field. In this way, at least one rotational or translational potential DOF may be added to the object of the work material. This may increase the average potential energy of the body of working material and decrease the temperature of the working material compared to a configuration in which the average potential energy is lower. In other words, a DE of an existing DOF or a new EDOF is created for the object in the working material. This may increase the specific heat capacity of the ionized working material at a constant pressure or at a constant volume as compared to the original configuration of the working material at station 212. For example, consider a working material comprising diatomic molecules. The ionization device is configured to remove or add an odd number of electrons from the molecule on average. In this way, the molecules are not only charged, but also polarized. In this case, two rotational potential DOF and three translational potential DOF can be excited by the action of the ionization device. In fig. 13, the atoms and molecules within the working material at stations 212 and 218 are substantially neutrally charged. In other embodiments, the magnitude of the charge carried by the object of work material at the station 212 may be substantially non-zero on average.

In some embodiments, the ionization device 194 is configured in the following manner: wherein the working material remains ionized throughout the first constriction 223 and at least a portion of the first expansion 225. In the illustrated embodiment, the neutralization or de-ionization of the plasma occurs within the constant region 227. This process involves the absorption of free electrons by the ions of the working material and the resulting transfer of ionization energy to the atoms or molecules of the working material. The release of ionizing energy and the reduction of specific heat capacity increases the temperature of the working material. In this embodiment, at least a portion of the energy transferred to the working material during the ionization process and during the deionization process may be recovered by the turbine 205.

In other embodiments, for example, at least a portion of the energy transferred to the working material may be electromagnetically recovered from the working material using conventional direct energy conversion. A wide variety of direct energy conversion methods and devices are available. For example, in some embodiments, the circumferential magnetic field around the shaft 204 downstream of station 215 and upstream of station 217 may be directed in a counter-clockwise direction when viewed along the positive Y-direction. The magnetic field may be configured to direct positively charged ions to a circumferential third conductive plate, wherein the third conductive plate may be located on the outer interior surface 238, and to direct negatively charged ions or electrons to a circumferential fourth conductive plate, wherein the fourth conductive plate may be located on the inner interior surface 239. Due to the flow of the magnetic field and the ionized working material in the positive Y-direction, the lorentz force directs positive charges in a radially outward direction and negative charges in a radially inward direction. This is similar to the principle of the hall effect. There is a potential difference between the third conductor and the fourth conductor due to the accumulation of positive charges near the third conductor in the constant region 227 and the accumulation of negative charges near the fourth conductor in the constant region 227. This potential difference can be converted into a power supply by allowing a current to flow between the third and fourth conductors. Due to the current flow, the working material is de-ionized or neutralized when flowing through the third conductor and the fourth conductor in the positive Y-direction. For example, power electronics 199 may use at least a portion of this power to ionize work material between station 213 and station 214. Among other parameters, the magnetic field strength can be configured in the following way: wherein a sufficient portion of the de-ionization occurs via the electrodes as opposed to via natural collisions of electrons and ions within the working material.

In some embodiments, the energy of the photons emitted during deionization is converted to electricity by the photoelectric effect. In some embodiments, photons emitted during deionization between stations 215 and 216 may be transferred into the working material between stations 213 and 214 via a waveguide such that the deionized photons are used to ionize at least a portion of the working material between stations 213 and 214.

In some embodiments, the internal device 193 and the external device 192 may also include a magnetic field generating device. In some embodiments, the magnetic field generating device is configured to confine the plasma within the channel 240. For example, the magnetic field lines may be configured to be substantially parallel to streamlines of working material flowing through the channel 240. For example, the magnetic field generating means may be a superconducting current loop. In some embodiments, the current loops may be arranged to: parallel to the XZ plane and having a center coincident with a line coincident with axis 204 and parallel to axis 204. At least one current loop may be located in the vicinity of the first throat in the inner device 193 and at least one current loop may be located in the vicinity of the first throat in the outer device 192, wherein the currents of the two current loops move in opposite directions.

In some embodiments, the magnetic field is sufficiently strong such that the number of charged particles interacting with the inner interior surface 239 or the outer interior surface 238 is reduced for at least a portion of the first constriction 223 or the first expansion 225 compared to a scenario in which no externally applied magnetic field is present. This may reduce friction losses as well as heat losses, for example. The magnetic field may also be used to adjust and control the rate of neutralization or deionization of ions.

Fig. 14 shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention. Some features of the device shown in fig. 14 and some of the operating principles of the device share similarities with the devices shown in the other figures, in particular fig. 13, and therefore the same detailed description will not be made in the context of fig. 14, and vice versa.

The illustrated embodiment 260 is symmetrical in the form of a cylinder about an axis parallel to the Y axis and coincident with the center of the embodiment 260. The outer surface 298 is thus in the shape of a tapered cylinder.

Embodiment 260 includes a housing 262 bounded by an outer surface 298 and an inner surface 299. The channel 300 is located between the first and second openings 287 and 295 and includes a first constricted portion 288, a first expanded portion 290, a region having a constant cross-sectional area when viewed in the Y direction, a second constricted portion 293, and a second expanded portion 294.

Bulk material 261 may include a suitable material similar to bulk material 61.

In fig. 14, the embodiment 260 is moved at a constant velocity magnitude and direction relative to the working material during nominal operation. The upstream working material is aligned with the Y-axis, i.e., pointing from the left side of the page to the right side of the page, on average relative to the velocity direction of embodiment 260. For clarity of description, it is assumed that the upstream working material is constant in space and time with respect to the velocity magnitude and direction of embodiment 260. In other modes of operation, the upstream relative velocity magnitude and direction need not be constant in space or time.

The working material upstream of the embodiment 260, for example at station 277, moves relative to the embodiment 260 faster than the speed of sound in the working material in the configuration shown in fig. 14. Both the first constriction 288 and the first expansion 290 of the channel 300 are configured to compress the working material flowing through the channel 300 in the positive Y-direction. The first throat is defined as the portion of the channel 300 having the smallest cross-sectional area of the channel 300 between the first constriction 288 and the first expansion 290 when viewed along the Y-direction. The average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 260 at the first throat is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this embodiment, upstream, e.g., at station 277, 278, or 279, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound, and further downstream, e.g., at station 280, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound within the working material. In this embodiment, the compression of the working material between station 279 and station 280 may be described as a substantially adiabatic compression.

Both the second constriction 293 and the second expansion 294 of the channel 300 are configured to expand the working material flowing through the channel 300 in the positive Y-direction. The second throat is defined as the portion of the channel 300 having the smallest cross-sectional area of the channel 300 between the second constriction 293 and the second expansion 294 when viewed along the Y-direction. The average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 260 at the second throat is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this embodiment, upstream, for example at station 281, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound, and downstream, for example at station 283, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound within the working material. In this embodiment, the expansion of the working material between stations 281 and 283 may be described as a substantially adiabatic expansion.

Dashed lines 302 and 303 represent stagnation streamlines incident at the leading edge or originating at the trailing edge of embodiment 260. Thus, flow lines 302 and 303 are part of a flow surface or flow tube that separates the working material flowing around embodiment 260 from the working material flowing through the channel 300 of embodiment 260. In this embodiment, the flow tube is circular when viewed along the Y direction.

The ionization device 263 is configured to ionize the working material. In this embodiment, the resulting plasma is substantially positively charged. In fig. 14, field ionization is used to ionize the working material. In this process, a local electric field of sufficiently strong magnitude is able to remove electrons from a monoatomic or polyatomic molecule. These localized electric fields may be generated by an electric field amplification device or "EFAA". The EFAA may include a conductor, such as a metal with fine protrusions on the surface, where thin protrusions may be created using, for example, chemical etching. In fig. 14, the upstream EFAA 264 includes an array of very thin electrically conductive tabs, such as tabs 266, and electrical conductors 265 that connect each tab to power electronics 274. In the depicted embodiment, each protrusion, such as protrusion 266, is a carbon nanotube. Each projection is rigidly connected to a support means within the channel 300, which in turn is rigidly connected to the housing 262. The EFAA is configured as follows: a majority of the molecules of the working material pass near the at least one protrusion during flow through the channel 300 between the stations 278, 279. When connected to a voltage source, such as a battery, the protrusion of EFAA 264 may be configured to generate a local electric field of sufficient strength to ionize molecules of the working material in the vicinity of the protrusion. In fig. 14, EFAA 264 is positively charged, resulting in the transfer of electrons from the working material to EFAA 264.

In other embodiments, the EFAA need not be located within the channel 300. For example, the EFAA may be located on an inner surface 299 of the first constriction 288 with the projections extending from the inner surface 299 into the channel 300. In some embodiments, the field ionization device is used in conjunction with a different ionization device. For example, a field ionization device may be used in conjunction with an electron bombardment device. For example, an alternating electric field generated within the channel 300 near the station 279 may be used to accelerate free electrons, for example. In subsequent collisions with neutral molecules, new ions may be generated, or the charge of existing ions may be increased.

As a result of the ionization, there is a volumetric force per unit mass that acts between the individual ions of the ionized working material. The volumetric force may be electromagnetic in nature. Since the ionized molecules of the working material are positively charged, there are repulsive electrostatic forces acting between the ions, for example. Note that in some embodiments, there may also be a volumetric force per unit mass acting between the ionized molecules of the working material and the polarized neutral molecules of the working material. The average potential energy of the body of working material may be increased for a sufficient strength of said volumetric force per unit mass and for a sufficiently small separation distance between adjacent atoms or molecules of the working material. In other words, the volumetric force per unit mass between atoms, molecules, ions, or electrons of the working material may result in a potential energy associated with the object within the working material. In some embodiments, the potential energy is translational in nature, i.e., associated with a separation distance between adjacent objects within the working material. In some embodiments, the potential energy is rotational in nature, i.e., associated with the orientation of a particular object within the working material relative to a local electric or magnetic field. In this way, at least one rotational or translational potential DOF may be added to the object of working material. This may increase the average potential energy of the body of working material and decrease the temperature of the working material compared to a configuration with a lower average potential energy. In other words, the DE of the existing DOF or the new EDOF is created for the object within the working material. This may increase the specific heat capacity of the ionized working material at a constant pressure or at a constant volume as compared to the original configuration of the working material at station 277. As before, working materials comprising diatomic molecules are considered. The ionization device is configured to remove an odd number of electrons from the molecules on average. In this way, the molecules are not only charged, but also polarized. In this case, two rotational potential DOF and three translational potential DOF can be excited by the action of the ionization device.

The power electronics 274 are configured to provide power to the ionization device 263. Depending on the type of ionization device 274 employed, the power electronics 274 may include, for example, a DC-DC voltage converter. A DC-DC voltage converter may be used to increase the electric field strength near the protrusion of EFAA 264 to a magnitude sufficient to ionize the molecules of the working material near the protrusion. The power electronics 274 may also include an energy source or energy storage device, such as a battery, capacitor, or inductor. The power electronics 274 may ionize objects within the working material near the EFAA 264 by applying an artificial electric field across the EFAA 264 and the cathode 272 within the channel 300 by means of an external voltage source, such as a battery.

As electrons are removed from the working material by EFAA 264, the working material between stations 279 and 280 is positively charged. The compression of the positively charged working material by the first constriction 288 and the first expansion 290 results in a greater density of positive charge at station 280 than at station 279.

In embodiment 260, at least a portion of the increase in pressure associated with the electrostatic repulsion of the positive charges of the working material is offset by a collection of negative charges, such as negative charge aggregates 271. In embodiment 260, the negatively charged aggregate is at least partially insulated from the positively charged working material by an insulating material, such as insulating material 270. For example, the insulating material may be glass or ceramic. The negative charge aggregate exerts an attractive electrostatic volume force per unit mass on positive ions of the working material. The volumetric force per unit mass may be configured to: mitigating and counteracting any deceleration of the positive ions of the working material moving from station 279 to station 280 of higher positive charge concentration.

The negative charge aggregate in this embodiment is arranged as follows. The external charge collection device 268 is a circular tube having a trailing edge 269 that is axially symmetric about an axis parallel to the Y-axis. The internal charge collector 267 is teardrop shaped and is also axially symmetric about the same axis as the charge collector 268 and the housing 262.

Conductors or electrodes are provided along the trailing edge of the outer charge collector 268 and at points along the trailing edge of the inner charge collector 268 in direct physical or electrical contact with the working material. The electrode is negatively charged. As shown in fig. 14, the cathode 272 of the external charge collector 268 is located on the radially inwardly and outwardly directed trailing surface of the external charge collector 268.

Cathode 272 is electrically connected to power electronics 274 through electrical conductor 273, completing an electrical circuit between the anode, EFAA 264 and cathode 272. Electrons are released from the cathode 272 into the working material where they de-ionize or neutralize the positively charged ions in the working material.

In embodiment 260, the negative charge aggregate is part of the electrical circuit between EFAA 264 and cathode 272. In this case, it can be considered that the negative charge aggregate is formed by the capacitance between the positively charged ions of the working material and the free electrons transferred from the initially neutral working material EFAA 264 during the deionization between the stations 278 and 279. The insulating material, such as insulating material 270, may be considered to form a dielectric between the positive and negative charge aggregates of the capacitor, and the capacitor may be considered to be connected in parallel with the resistance of the neutral working material between the cathode 272 and the positively charged ions at station 280.

In other embodiments, the negative charge aggregate or another separate negative charge aggregate is electrically isolated from the circuit between EFAA 264 and cathode 272 and the working material in channel 300. In some such embodiments, similar to the second charge aggregate 80 in fig. 6, the amount of charge in the charge aggregate may be regulated by an external voltage source, such as a battery. In some embodiments, the negative charge aggregate may additionally or alternatively be embedded within the housing 262 near the first expanded portion 290 or the first contracted portion 288.

In some embodiments, there is no dedicated, insulated negative charge aggregate. Note that the portion of molecules within the working material that are ionized after interaction with EFAA 264 and the change in density of positively charged ions between station 279 and station 280 may be configured in the following manner: flow through the passage 300 is not deactivated. In some such embodiments, the active circuitry contained within the power electronics 274 may be considered a simple electrical conductor during nominal operation. Because there is no negative charge aggregate, ionization and compression of the positively charged working material between stations 279 and 280 by inner surface 299 of external device 262 consumes an additional amount of work compared to the theoretical adiabatic compression of a neutrally charged ideal gas. This additional work may be considered to be stored in the potential energy between the positively charged ions of the working material. The ionization energy required by EFAA 264 may be provided by at least a portion of this additional work. As will be discussed later, this portion of the additional work is also referred to as additional work a. Compression between station 279 and station 280 increases the density of charge at station 280 compared to station 279 and results in a potential difference between the anode, i.e., EFAA 264, and the cathode 272. In some embodiments, the potential difference is sufficient to ionize the working material in the vicinity of EFAA 264. In other embodiments, the potential difference between EFAA 264 and cathode 272 may be amplified by a DC-DC converter within power electronics 274, for example. The ionization energy is the energy required to move electrons from the molecules of the working material and from the collection of positively charged ions away and into the EFAA 264 and the electrical conductor 265. During the ionization process, the electrons move to a lower potential. Any resistance experienced by an electron in this process results in the electrical energy of the electron being converted into another form of energy, such as the thermal energy of a photon, phonon, or molecule of the working material with which the electron collides. It is assumed that a large portion of this electrical energy released by the electrons during the ionization process results in an increase in the thermal energy of the working material at station 281. Thus, in this embodiment, a substantial portion of the additional work A is converted to thermal energy when the elements of the working material arrive at the station 281.

During the deionization process, in this embodiment, it is assumed that a large part of the remaining part of the additional work, i.e. the additional work B, is transferred to the working material in the form of thermal energy. Although the potential difference between the electrons in the electrical conductor 265 and the ions at the station 280 is reduced compared to the potential difference between the electrons within the not-yet-ionized molecules of the working material at the station 278 and the ions at the station 280, there is still a large potential difference between the electrons in the electrical conductor 265 and the ions at the station 280. This potential difference is converted to heat due to the resistivity of the working material to the current flowing through the working material during the deionization process. The aforementioned potential energy difference causes the electrons to accelerate before colliding with neutral or ionized molecules of the working material. Thus, before or during deionization of individual ions, in inelastic collisions, the electrical energy of the electrons due to the potential energy difference is transferred to the molecules of the working material. Thus, in this embodiment, a substantial portion of the additional work B is converted to thermal energy when the element of working material reaches the station 281.

For example, the conversion of a substantial portion of the additional work A and B into thermal energy may be facilitated by the following considerations. The housing 262 may be configured as a good electrical and thermal insulator. Any photons emitted during the ionization or deionization process may be absorbed by the working material at station 281 or by the inner surface 299 of some embodiments and re-emitted as thermal radiation. A negligible amount of electrical energy may be lost within the electrical conductors 265 and 275 and the power electronics 274. For example, the electrical conductors 265 and 275 can be superconductors.

Converting a large portion of the additional work a and B to thermal energy results in an increase in the temperature of the neutral working material at station 281 compared to a scenario where the working material is theoretically considered to be an ideal gas with controllable specific heat capacity. At least a portion of this thermal energy may be thermodynamically converted to useful mechanical work by the expansion and acceleration of the working material between stations 281 and 283. Thus, at least a portion of the mechanical additional work a and B performed on the work material by the external device 262 during compression of the work material between the station 279 and the station 280 is recovered by: a substantial portion of this additional work is converted to thermal energy and a substantial portion of this thermal energy is subsequently thermodynamically converted to mechanical work performed on the working material by external device 262 during expansion of the working material between stations 281 and 283. The remaining mechanical work required to meet the additional work requirement is also provided by the expansion of the working material between stations 281 and 283. In some such embodiments, net refrigeration of the working material may still be achieved.

In the above example, the potential energy difference between the stations 278 and 280 and the associated current of electrons may be considered to result in heating of the working material, with a portion of this heat being thermodynamically recovered. In other words, most of the voltage drop associated with the ionization current occurs due to the resistivity of the working material. In other embodiments, at least a portion of the voltage drop associated with the ionization current may occur across the motor between the electrical conductor 265 and the electrical conductor 273, i.e., along the electron path between the anode 264 and the cathode 272. The motor may drive an axial flow compressor, which may be configured to: the working material is compressed prior to deionization. In some embodiments, the axial compressor may be configured to: the working material is compressed after de-ionization. In the latter case, an axial flow compressor may be configured in embodiment 260 in a manner similar to the configuration of the axial flow turbine 205 in embodiment 190 in fig. 13. In some embodiments, the compressor may be a centrifugal type compressor or a reciprocating piston type compressor.

In some embodiments, the external device 262 may also include an electric field generating device. In some embodiments, the electric field generating device is configured to confine positively charged ions within the channel 300. For example, during the first constriction 288 and the first expansion 290, the collection of negative charges may be located within the bulk material 261 of the outer device 262 near the channel 300. These negative charge aggregates may be arranged in a ring-like manner around the channel 300.

In some embodiments, the electric field of these negative charge aggregates is sufficiently strong such that a reduced number of positively charged ions interact with the inner surface 299 for at least a portion of the first constriction 288 or the first expansion 290 as compared to in the absence of such an externally applied electric field. This may reduce frictional losses and heat loss due to, for example, flow of working material relative to the inner surface 299.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention. With the exception of the BFGA 450, the illustrated embodiment 430 is symmetrical in the form of a cylinder about an axis parallel to the Y-axis and coincident with the center of the embodiment 430. Thus, the outer surface 460 is in the shape of a body of revolution or cylinder with a variable radius along the Y-axis.

Embodiment 430 includes a channel 432 having an inner surface 462 between a first opening 433 and a second opening 440, wherein the channel includes a first expanded portion 435, a first contracted portion 436, a second expanded portion 437, a second contracted portion 438, and a third expanded portion 439. The cross-sectional geometry of the channel 432 is circular when viewed along the Y-direction. Note that the terms "shrink" and "expand" refer to the size of the radius of an axially symmetric channel. Note that for other embodiments or other operating conditions, the channel radius or geometry may vary or be configured differently depending on the location along the Y-axis. For example, in other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry of the channel 432 may be annular or ring-shaped. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry or outer surface 460 of the channel 432 may be square or rectangular. In some embodiments, for example, the cross-sectional geometry of a portion of the channel 432 may vary from square to circular along the length of the channel, i.e., in the positive Y-direction or the negative Y-direction.

The bulk material 431 may include a metal such as aluminum, titanium, or steel. The bulk material 431 may also include a ceramic. In some embodiments, bulk material 431 includes a composite material such as carbon fiber or glass fiber. Bulk material 431 may also include an electrical insulator such as glass.

Note that the devices contained within inner surface 462 and outer surface 460 need not be solid materials, but may contain open or hollow spaces so as not to unnecessarily increase the mass or cost of embodiment 430. Some embodiments may include complex geometries found in conventional turbofan engines or ramjet engines. For example, a hollow space may be located between inner surface 462 and outer surface 460, where the surfaces may include a solid metal or composite skin, and where additional hollow enclosed spaces may include structural support materials such as frames or stringers found in conventional semi-monocoque structures. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 15, a majority of the bulk material 431 may comprise a solid material. For example, the bulk material 431 may be machined from a solid metal block or an annular cylinder using a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling machine. In some embodiments, portions of the bulk material 431 may also be fabricated using additive fabrication techniques, such as Selective Laser Sintering (SLS).

In fig. 15, embodiment 430 is moving at a constant velocity magnitude and direction relative to the working material. The upstream working material is aligned with the Y-axis on average, i.e., pointing from the left side of the page to the right side of the page, relative to the free stream velocity direction of embodiment 430. For clarity of description, it is assumed that the upstream working material is constant in space and time with respect to the velocity magnitude and direction of embodiment 430. In other modes of operation, the upstream relative velocity magnitude and direction need not be constant in space or time. For example, the upstream relative velocity magnitude may increase or decrease as a function of time. For example, when embodiment 430 is used as an aircraft engine, the upstream relative speed magnitude and direction may change, for example, during nominal operation, such as during takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, and landing, as is typical with conventional aircraft engines or propulsion systems.

For example, the working material may be a gas such as air, helium, or nitrogen. The working material may also be a liquid such as water. In the embodiment shown in fig. 15, the working material is considered to be an ideal gas for simplicity. In fig. 15, the working material is considered to be a diatomic ideal gas for clarity of description. In the embodiment of fig. 15, the working material may be any suitable material, where conditions regarding suitability are explained below.

In the configuration shown in fig. 15, the working material upstream of embodiment 430, for example at station 441, moves relative to embodiment 430 faster than the speed of sound in the working material upstream of embodiment 430. The magnitude of the velocity of the working material relative to the embodiment 430 may be less than the magnitude of the velocity of the working material relative to the embodiment shown in fig. 6. The first expansion portion 435 is configured to: causing the working material flowing through channel 432 to expand in the positive Y-direction. Both the first constriction 436 and the second expansion 437 of the channel 432 are configured to: the working material flowing through the channel 432 is compressed in the positive Y direction. The first throat is defined as the portion of the passage 432 having the smallest cross-sectional area of the passage 432 between the first constricted portion 436 and the second expanded portion 437 as viewed along the Y direction. The average velocity of the working material at the first throat relative to the embodiment 430 is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this particular mode of operation, upstream, e.g. at station 441, 443 or 444, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound, and further downstream, e.g. at station 446, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In some embodiments, there may be a shock wave located between the first throat and the station 446. In other words, the relative flow velocity of the working material downstream of the first throat may be faster than the speed of sound within the working material, with the relative flow velocity being reduced to a velocity that is slower than the speed of sound in the entire shock wave prior to station 446. The presence of a shock wave at a location downstream of but proximate to the first throat may avoid engine misfire due to variations or anisotropy in the free stream flow (e.g., irregularities caused by turbulence). The positioning of the shock wave at a passage cross-sectional area that is only slightly larger than the cross-sectional area of the first throat may reduce the intensity of the shock and thereby improve the efficiency of the engine.

The expansion of the working material between stations 441 and 443 increases the average velocity of the working material flowing through channel 432. In this simplified example, the expansion may be described as a substantially adiabatic expansion. In this embodiment, the compression of the working material between stations 444 and 446 may be described as a substantially adiabatic compression. In other embodiments, compression may include heat transfer from or to the working material. In other embodiments, such compression may be performed at least in part by an axial compressor, such as that found in conventional jet engines. In other embodiments, such compression may be performed at least in part, for example, by a centrifugal compressor. To reduce the wave drag associated with the rotor blades of the compressor, the axial or centrifugal compressor is preferably located in a portion of the subsonic fluid flow passing through the passage 432, for example between the first throat and the station 446 or between the first throat and the station 447.

Both the second constriction 438 and the third expansion 439 of the passage 432 are configured to: causing the working material flowing through channel 432 to expand and accelerate in the positive Y direction. The second throat is defined as the portion of the passage 432 having the smallest cross-sectional area of the passage 432 between the second constriction 438 and the third expansion 439 when viewed along the Y-direction. The average velocity of the working material at the second throat relative to the embodiment 430 is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this embodiment, upstream, for example at station 447, the average relative velocity is less than sonic speed, and downstream, for example at station 449, the average relative velocity is greater than sonic speed within the working material. In this embodiment, the expansion of the working material between stations 447 and 449 may be described as a substantially adiabatic expansion. In other embodiments, the expansion may include heat transfer from or to the working material. In other embodiments, such expansion may be performed at least in part by an axial turbine, such as an axial turbine found in conventional jet engines (e.g., turbojet, turbofan, or turboshaft engines). In other embodiments, such expansion may be performed, at least in part, by a centrifugal turbine, for example. To reduce the wave drag associated with the rotor blades of the turbine, the axial or centrifugal turbine is preferably located in a portion of the subsonic fluid flow passing through the passage 432, such as between the station 447 and the second throat. In some such embodiments, the working material downstream of the embodiments may move relative to the embodiments at a speed slower than the speed of sound in the working material. In other words, for embodiments in which an axial or centrifugal turbine or equivalent device is located between the station 447 and the second throat, the third expansion 439 of the passage 432 is not required, such that the second throat is also the second opening 440, and such that the average flow velocity downstream of the second opening is subsonic with respect to the device 430. Note that in such embodiments, the second opening equivalent to second opening 440 may be larger than second opening 440, and the average flow rate downstream of the equivalent second opening may be less than the average flow rate at station 449. Indeed, a portion of the thermal energy contained within the working material at station 447 may be converted into useful mechanical shaft work by a conventional axial or centrifugal turbine, resulting in a smaller average flow velocity downstream of the equivalent second opening. For example, the drive shaft of an axial flow turbine may be used to power a generator configured to convert at least a portion of the shaft work into electrical energy. In another example, the drive shaft of the axial turbine may be mechanically coupled to a fan of a turbofan engine or a propeller of a turboprop engine. In some embodiments, the mechanical coupling may include a gear train, such as a planetary gear. The details of such configurations and their application are well known in the field of conventional aircraft turbines or power turbines.

In configurations where embodiments of the present invention are used as power turbines in conventional power plants, the free stream velocity is typically very small or near zero. This scenario is similar to the scenario shown in fig. 17. As is clear from the foregoing discussion in the context of the embodiment shown in fig. 15, an axial or centrifugal turbine may be located between stations 567 and 569 or between stations 566 and 569. In some embodiments, the turbine includes an open rotor, such as that of a conventional wind power plant used to convert wind energy into electricity, where the open rotor may be located downstream of a second opening, such as second opening 560, of a passage, such as passage 552, and configured to decelerate the working material in a manner similar to the manner in which a wind turbine decelerates a volume of airflow. As described herein, other types of devices may be used to convert thermal energy of a working material, e.g., at station 567 or at station 569, into useful work, e.g., electrical or mechanical work. For example, a volumetric force generating device may be used to expand the working material and recover mechanical or electrical energy in the process. For example, the working material may be configured to do work against gravitational or inertial volumetric forces, and the potential or kinetic energy generated may be converted to electricity, e.g., via a generator. As mentioned, the working material may also be ionized, and a direct energy conversion method may be employed to decelerate the expanding ionized working material using electromagnetic volume forces to convert thermal energy to electricity. In another example, thermal energy of the working material may be converted to electrical or mechanical work by a thermoelectric generator. For example, the thermoelectric generator may employ the Peltier effect (Peltier effect). In a subset of embodiments, such conversion may occur substantially equally.

It is noted that the concepts, configurations, principles and applications described in the context of fig. 15 also apply to other embodiments of the present invention, such as the embodiments shown in fig. 16, 17, 8, 10, 9 and 1, and thus will not be described in the same detail in the context of other figures, and vice versa.

Dashed lines 458 and 459 represent stagnation streamlines incident on the leading edge of embodiment 430 or originating from the trailing edge. Thus, the flow lines 458 and 459 are portions of a flow surface or flow tube that separates working material flowing around the embodiment 430 from working material flowing through the channel 432 of the embodiment 430. In this embodiment, the flow tube is circular when viewed along the Y direction. Note that the increase in cross-sectional area of the outer surface 460 of the embodiment 430 in supersonic free stream flow is generally associated with wave drag acting on the outer surface 460 of the working material due to shock waves formed in the working material flowing around the embodiment 430. In this case, the increase in cross-sectional area of outer surface 460 is due in part to the increase in cross-sectional area of channel 432 within first expanse 435.

A volumetric force generation device or "BFGA" 450 per unit mass is located near the channel 432. The BFGA 450 is configured to be capable of applying at least one volumetric force per unit mass to an object, e.g., an atom or molecule, of the working material. In this embodiment, the magnitude of the volume force may be adjusted. BFGA 450 includes a first charge aggregate 451 and a second charge aggregate 455. In the configuration shown, the first charge aggregate 451 is positively charged and the second charge aggregate 455 is negatively charged. In other embodiments, the polarity of the charges in the charge aggregates may be reversed, i.e. the first charge aggregate is negatively charged and the second charge aggregate is positively charged. In some embodiments, the polarity of the charges in both charge assemblies is the same, i.e., both charge assemblies may be positively charged, or both charge assemblies may be negatively charged. In some such embodiments, the first charge aggregate is indistinguishable from the second charge aggregate. In such embodiments, the strength of the electric field within channel 432 is sufficiently strong near the charge aggregate such that the specific heat capacity of the working material within channel 432 assumes a desired value.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 15, the amount of charges in the charge aggregate can be adjusted by charging or discharging or reducing the charges in the charge aggregate. In such embodiments, the charge aggregate may include a conductor that is capable of promoting the accumulation of charge or the reduction of the amount of charge contained within the conductor. In some such embodiments, in some cases, the amount of charge in the charge aggregate may be configured to be zero over time. The charging process may include: a voltage difference is applied across the first charge aggregate 451 and the second charge aggregate 455. The voltage difference may be provided by a battery or a capacitor, for example. The first charge aggregate 451 and the second charge aggregate 455 are electrically insulated from each other and from portions of the bulk material 431. An electrical conductor, such as an insulated copper wire, connects the first charge aggregate 451 to a voltage source and the second charge aggregate 455 to the voltage source. These electrical conductors are not shown. Between the first charge aggregate 451 and the channel 432 and between the second charge aggregate 455 and the channel 432, the bulk material 431 is an electrical insulator. In practice, the first charge aggregate 451 and the second charge aggregate 455 may be considered to be the relatively conductive plates of a capacitor, where the dielectric between these plates comprises the working material and the relevant portion of the bulk material 431 between the first charge aggregate 451 and the second charge aggregate 455. In the embodiment shown, the first charge aggregate 451 and the second charge aggregate 455 are configured as follows: when the first charge aggregate 451 and the second charge aggregate 455 are oppositely charged, most of the electric field lines pass through the working material within the channel 432. To this end, the first charge aggregate 451 and the second charge aggregate 455 may include several insulated conductors. These conductors may be, for example, conductive wires, and may be arranged within the first charge aggregate 451 parallel to the Y-axis. This may be used to prevent or reduce any undesired redistribution of charge within the first charge aggregate 451 and the second charge aggregate 455.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, and as described below, the effect of the BFGA 450 during nominal operation is an increase in the specific heat capacity of the working material in the channel 432 near the BFGA 450 at a constant pressure. In the embodiment and the operation method shown in fig. 15, for the sake of simplicity, the pressure of the working material is constant during the increase or decrease of the specific heat capacity of the working material under a constant pressure. An increase in specific heat capacity at constant pressure corresponds to a decrease in temperature and an increase in density of the working material. In fig. 15, this increase in specific heat capacity at constant pressure occurs between stations 443 and 444. In this embodiment, the specific heat capacity at constant pressure is substantially constant between stations 444 and 446. Between stations 446 and 447, the specific heat capacity at constant pressure is reduced to the original value at station 443 or station 441. For the embodiment shown in fig. 15, the increase in the specific heat capacity of the working material may be considered to be an electronegative heating effect. As used herein, "electronegative thermoeffect" means that the temperature of a working material, such as a solid, liquid, gas, or plasma, decreases due to an increase in the specific heat capacity of the working material, where the increase is due, at least in part, to a change in the activation level of the BFGA, where the change in the activation level includes increasing the electric field strength experienced by an object of interest in the working material, and where the specific heat capacity may refer to the specific heat capacity at constant pressure or the specific heat capacity at constant volume. As used herein, "positive thermogenic effect" refers to an increase in temperature of the working material due to a decrease in the specific heat capacity of the working material, wherein the increase is due, at least in part, to a change in the activation level of the BFGA, wherein the change in the activation level comprises an increase in the electric field strength experienced by an object of interest in the working material, and wherein the specific heat capacity may refer to the specific heat capacity at a constant pressure or the specific heat capacity at a constant volume. The positive electrothermal effect is similar to the conventional electrothermal effect described in the literature. Examples of solid materials exhibiting a positive or conventional electrothermal effect are the widely used piezoelectric materials PZT or lead zirconate titanate. Various other materials exhibiting an electrothermal effect are known in the art.

Indeed, the transition from station 443 to station 444 may be described as an isobaric compression or isobaric reduction in volume. In other embodiments or other boundary conditions or other methods of operation, the pressure need not be constant during changes in specific heat capacity. For example, the pressure may be increased or decreased during an increase or decrease in specific heat capacity at a constant pressure. For example, work may be done on the working material by a compression or expansion device, such as the contraction or expansion of a pipe or channel 432 or an axial turbine or compressor, or heat or mass may be added or removed from the working material. In the simplified embodiment shown in fig. 15, no heat or mass is exchanged between the working material within the channel 432 of the embodiment 430 and the rest of the embodiment 430. In another example, the increase or decrease in specific heat capacity may occur at a constant volume during the isochoric process. In another example, the increase or decrease in specific heat capacity may occur in a polytropic process.

The BFGA is configured to: the temperature of the working material is changed due to its interaction with the volumetric force per unit mass generated by the BFGA. The volumetric force per unit mass generated by the BFGA may be configured to increase the average potential energy of the object within the working material. The increase in the average potential energy of the object increases the specific heat capacity of the working material. Since the total energy within the working material is constant throughout the activation of the BFGA in this case, an increase in the average potential energy of the objects decreases the average kinetic energy of the objects in the working material. This corresponds to a decrease in the temperature of the working material and explains the decrease in the density of the working material under isobaric conditions. In this way, the BFGA may increase the specific heat capacity of the working material and decrease the temperature.

The magnitude of the average potential energy of the objects within the working material may be adjusted by the BFGA. In this case, the average potential energy or potential energy "reservoir" of the object can be configured as an artificial heat sink or artificial heat source by the action of the BFGA, since no energy is exchanged with the external environment.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the activation level of the BFGA controls the strength of the volumetric force per unit mass, which in turn adjusts the average potential energy of objects within the working material, which may be used to control the specific heat capacity of the working material.

Note that in the isobaric case shown in fig. 15, work is performed on the working material throughout activation of the BFGA and the density is increased while the temperature decreases adiabatically, i.e., heat is not exchanged with the heat storage body other than the working material.

Note that for simplicity, in the embodiment shown in fig. 15, it is assumed that the change in the activation level of the BFGA does not consume work. In some embodiments, the activation of the BFGA may consume work. In some such embodiments, at least a portion of this work may be recovered, where recovery may occur during deactivation of the BFGA or during conversion of thermal energy to useful energy, such as mechanical or electrical work.

In other embodiments, the amount of charge contained within the charge ensemble is constant over time. In such embodiments, the charge aggregate may comprise electrons, ions, or other charged particles embedded within an electrical insulator. In some such embodiments, a separate voltage source for adjusting the amount of charge in the charge aggregate is not required.

In other embodiments, the first charge aggregate and the second charge aggregate may be located in a container positioned within the central passage upstream and downstream of the first throat. For example, a positively charged container may be located generally at station 444 while a negatively charged container may be located generally at station 446. In some embodiments, the container is electrically insulating and streamlined.

In some embodiments, the charge aggregate is not electrically insulated from the working material. In other words, the conductor or charged plate of the charge aggregate may be in direct physical contact with the working material.

Figure 15 also shows a plot of the approximate value of the physical parameter of the working material within channel 432 as a function of position along the Y-direction.

A horizontal axis 467 parallel to the Y-axis represents a position along the Y-direction at which the corresponding physical parameter is measured. A vertical axis 468, parallel to the X-axis, shows the value of the physical parameter. Note that the scale of the vertical axis 468 is different for different physical parameters, i.e., different lines shown in the graph. In free flow, the working material is approximately at standard pressure and temperature, at a natural specific heat capacity at constant pressure, and at a free flow rate.

Line 469 shows the magnitude of the working material versus the average velocity of embodiment 430 as a function of position in the Y direction. Line 470 shows the value of the magnitude of the working material at station 441 relative to the average velocity of embodiment 430 for reference. Note that the magnitude of the average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 430 at station 449 is greater than the magnitude of the average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 430 at station 441.

Line 471 shows the change in specific heat capacity of the working material at constant pressure as a function of position along the Y direction. Line 472 shows the value of specific heat capacity at station 441 at constant pressure for reference.

Line 473 shows the change in temperature of the working material with position in the Y direction. Line 474 shows the value of the temperature at station 441 for reference. Note that the temperature at station 449 is lower than the temperature at station 441. Thus, the embodiment 430 may be considered to cool the working material flowing through the channels 432 or to refrigerate the working material flowing through the channels 432.

Line 475 shows the static pressure of the working material as a function of position in the Y direction. Line 476 shows the value of the static pressure at station 441 for reference.

Some embodiments of the present invention produce a net mechanical work output. In the illustrated embodiment, mechanical work is used to accelerate the work material as shown by the greater average relative velocity 469 of the work material at station 449 as compared to station 441. The associated thrust force may be used to counteract at least a portion of the drag forces acting on embodiment 430 and any devices connected thereto, such as the remainder of an aircraft, due to movement through the working material. In such applications, the embodiment 430 may be operated in a manner similar to a conventional ramjet engine.

Mechanical work can also be converted into electrical energy by means of a generator. For example, the embodiment 430 may be coupled to a support arm coupled to a drive shaft of a generator, wherein the shaft axis is parallel to the X-axis, and the center of the embodiment 430 is offset relative to the shaft axis in the YZ plane in the following manner: the thrust in the negative Y direction with respect to embodiment 430 exerts a moment about the shaft axis. Therefore, it is also possible to consider the application of the embodiment of the present invention to power generation or power consumption. In another similar configuration, embodiments of the present invention may also be rigidly connected to the tip of a conventional propeller such as a helicopter main rotor, a conventional fixed wing aircraft propeller, or a marine propeller. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may be used to provide at least a portion of the torque required to propel the propeller blades through the fluid.

Some embodiments of the invention may alternatively or additionally employ a positive electro-thermal effect to modify the specific heat capacity of the working material in channel 432 at a constant pressure. For example, when the electric field strength within the working material is sufficiently strong, the degree of excitation or DE of the potential DOF and the associated dynamic DOF may be reduced. When the field strength is further increased, the DOF, which is affected by the field strength, can be frozen. The decrease in DE may result in a net decrease in the specific heat capacity of the working material at constant pressure to a value below the free flow value of the specific heat capacity. This reduction in specific heat capacity may be configured to occur between stations 446 and 447. Note that the first compression between station 443 and station 446 need not include a greater specific heat capacity than the value of the free stream in this configuration. In other words, for embodiments in which the specific heat capacity decreases throughout at least one expansion of the working material, the specific heat capacity between station 443 and station 446, or between station 441 and station 446, may be equal to the specific heat capacity in the free stream. Note that in the case where the specific heat capacity is also increased by the first BFGA450, and is further upstream of the station 446 than if the first BFGA450 were inactive, but still downstream of the first throat, so as to allow the specific heat capacity to be reduced significantly from a value greater than the free flow value to a value less than the free flow value, and vice versa so as to allow the specific heat capacity to be increased from a value equal to the free flow value to the same value less than the free flow value. This reduction in specific heat capacity prior to expansion of the working material is similar to the increase in specific heat capacity between station 443 and station 444 prior to compression of the working material. Subsequently, the specific heat capacity may be maintained at a value that is lower than the free flow value of the specific heat capacity throughout the expansion of the working material through the converging-diverging nozzle (convergent-divergent nozzle) around the second throat. In some embodiments, the specific heat capacity may remain substantially constant in this section of the channel 432. This is analogous to a specific heat capacity that is greater than the free flow value of the specific heat capacity during the entire compression of the working material through the converging-diverging duct around the first throat between stations 444 and 446. After the working material is expanded through the second and third constrictions 438, 439, the specific heat capacity may be increased again. In some embodiments, this increase may occur between the second throat and the second opening 440. In other embodiments, this increase may occur downstream of the second opening. Note that in some embodiments, this increase may occur isobarically. This is a similar increase to the decrease in specific heat capacity between station 446 and station 447.

In other embodiments, an increase in specific heat capacity, for example between station 443 and station 446 relative to the free flow value, may be followed by a decrease in specific heat capacity to a value below the free flow value between station 446 and the station after the second throat as described in the previous paragraph, which may be followed by an increase in specific heat capacity to a value above the free flow value, similar to the increase between station 443 and station 446, which may be followed by a return in specific heat capacity to the free flow value, similar to the decrease between station 446 and station 447, which may be followed by an expansion of the working material through the converging diverging duct or only the converging duct if the exit velocity is subsonic, similar to the expansion of the working material between station 447 and station 449 in fig. 15.

In the following paragraphs, the foregoing other embodiments will be described in more detail. The working material flowing through the channels of such embodiments of the present invention may experience an increase in specific heat capacity to a value greater than the free flow value of specific heat capacity, where the increase may be facilitated by an increase in the activation level of the BFGA in the vicinity of the working material at that location in the channel of an embodiment, such as channel 432 of embodiment 430. Note that the increase in the activation level of BFGA is relative to the increase in working material flowing through the channel. The activation level of the BFGA relative to embodiment 430 need not change in time during nominal operation. It is sufficient that the working material flows into the region where the activation level of the BFGA increases. In other words, with respect to the activation level of the BFGA of embodiment 430, for example, the amount of charge per unit volume within first charge aggregate 451 or second charge aggregate 455 need not be a function of time during nominal operation, i.e., the amount of charge per unit volume may remain constant over time during nominal operation. When the charge per unit volume within the BFGA is constant over time, the working material flowing from the free flow through the channel 432 in the positive Y-direction into the electric field of the force field, e.g., the BFGA, will sense or experience an increase in the activation level of the BFGA, i.e., an increase in the electric field strength, associated with the working material. In some embodiments, or for other modes of operation of the same embodiment, the activation level of the BFGA, e.g., the amount of charge per unit volume within the BFGA, associated with embodiment 430 may also vary over time. As mentioned in the context of other figures, an increase in the activation level of the BFGA in relation to the working material may add a rotational potential DOF to the polarized diatomic molecules of the working material. For example, two rotational potential DOFs may be added to two existing rotational DOFs about axes perpendicular to the long axis of the diatomic molecule. This can increase the specific heat capacity of the working material at a constant pressure. In this example, the effect may also be described as an electronegative heating effect.

The aforementioned increase in specific heat capacity may be followed by a first compression of the working material at a substantially constant specific heat capacity, wherein the heat capacity is greater than the free flow value, and wherein the compression may comprise, for example, interaction with converging diverging ducts or a centrifugal or axial compressor. The compression may also include interaction with a volumetric force generating device per unit mass, wherein at least a portion of the volumetric force acting on an object of interest, such as a molecule, in the working material includes a component in a direction opposite to the direction of bulk flow of the working material. The volumetric force in this case may be, for example, gravitational or inertial in nature. The volumetric force may also be electrical or magnetic in nature. In some embodiments, the volumetric force used in compression or expansion of the bulk flow may also be used to modify the specific heat capacity of the working material. In other words, in general, in some embodiments, a BFGA such as BFGA 450 may be used to compress a working material and increase the specific heat capacity of the working material, or to expand a working material and decrease the specific heat capacity of the working material.

The aforementioned first compression may be followed by: a further increase in the activation level of the BFGA associated with the working material in the vicinity of the working material at that location in an embodiment channel, such as channel 432 of embodiment 430. For example, the increase may decrease the DE of any affected potential DOF and any associated dynamic DOF. In the foregoing simplified example, two additional rotational potential DOFs and their associated rotational motion DOF may experience a decrease in their DE by an increase in the activation level of the BFGA relative to the working material. At a sufficiently strong activation level of the BFGA, these DOFs may be frozen. This can result in a reduction of the specific heat capacity of the working material at constant pressure to a value below the free flow value. This effect may also be described in this example as a positive or conventional electro-thermal effect, where an increase in the activation level of the BFGA in relation to the working material increases the temperature due to a decrease in the specific heat capacity of the working material.

The aforementioned reduction of the specific heat capacity may be followed by a first expansion of the working material at a substantially constant specific heat capacity, wherein the specific heat capacity is smaller than the free flow value, and wherein the expansion may comprise, for example, interaction with a converging diverging duct or a centrifugal or axial turbine. The expansion may also include interaction with a volumetric force generating device per unit mass, wherein at least a portion of the volumetric force acting on the object of interest, e.g., a molecule, in the working material includes a component in a direction that is coincident with the direction of bulk flow of the working material.

The aforementioned first expansion of the working material may be followed by: a decrease in the activation level of the BFGA relative to the working material and an associated increase in the specific heat capacity of the working material from a value below the free flow value to a value above the free flow value of the specific heat capacity. The value of the resulting specific heat capacity may be substantially equal to the value of the specific heat capacity during the first compression or before the first expansion portion, for example. A decrease in the activation level of the BFGA in relation to the working material may increase the DE of the aforementioned rotational potential and dynamic DOF. The activation level of the BFGA is non-zero compared to the free flow activation level of the BFGA, resulting in a specific heat capacity greater than the free flow value. This is due to thawing or thawing of the affected potential DOF and the associated dynamic DOF. This effect can be described as a positive or conventional electrothermal effect, where a decrease in the activation level of the BFGA in relation to the working material decreases the temperature due to an increase in the specific heat capacity of the working material.

As described in the context of the first compression, the aforementioned increase in specific heat capacity may be followed by a second compression of the working material at a substantially constant specific heat capacity, wherein the heat capacity is greater than the free flow value, and wherein the compression may comprise interaction with converging diverging conduits or centrifugal or axial compressors or volumetric force generating devices.

The second compression may be followed by: a reduction in the activation level of the BFGA in relation to the working material and a reduction in the DE of the affected potential DOF, e.g., the rotational potential DOF in this example. This can reduce the specific heat capacity at constant pressure to a value substantially equal to the free flow value. The decrease in specific heat capacity with decreasing levels of BFGA activation can be described as an negative electrothermal effect.

The aforementioned reduction of the specific heat capacity may be followed by a second expansion of the working material at a substantially constant specific heat capacity, wherein the heat capacity is substantially equal to the free flow value, and wherein the expansion may comprise, for example, an interaction with a converging diverging duct or a centrifugal or axial turbine. The expansion may also include interaction with a volumetric force generating device per unit mass, wherein at least a portion of the volumetric force acting on an object of interest, such as a molecule, in the working material includes a component in a direction coincident with the direction of bulk flow of the working material. Where the exit velocity of the bulk flow of working material is slower than the speed of sound of the working material at the exit or at the second opening, the second expansion may comprise a converging nozzle rather than a converging diverging nozzle.

In other embodiments or in an alternative mode of operation to the embodiment described in the preceding paragraph, there may be expansion of the working material prior to the increase in specific heat capacity and the subsequent first compression. In other words, the first expansion part may be present before the first compression, and the first expansion part and the second expansion part of the preceding paragraph may be renamed as the second expansion part and the third expansion part, respectively. The first expansion prior to the first compression may be functionally similar to the first expansion of the working material that occurs in the first expansion 435 of the channel 432 in fig. 15 between stations 441 and 443.

Note that in the foregoing embodiment, the activation level of BFGA with respect to the working material increases throughout the channel, e.g., channel 432, and then decreases. Thus, the activation level of the BFGA in relation to the working material and also in relation to the embodiment or in relation to the channel varies smoothly and continuously along the length of the channel. Thus, both an increase in specific heat capacity and a subsequent greater decrease due to an increased activation level of the BFGA may be associated with compression and subsequent expansion of the working material. This may improve channel utilization and increase power or thrust per unit length of channel or per unit activation level of the BFGA.

In other embodiments, this advantage may be offset by an advantage of a larger change in the specific heat capacity of the working material, such as a change in the specific heat capacity upstream of the first opening or throughout the first expansion portion prior to the first compression or throughout the expansion upstream of the second opening or downstream of the second opening. For example, the expansion immediately upstream of the first expansion and/or the second opening prior to the first compression may also include a working material at a lower specific heat capacity than the specific heat capacity in the free stream. In other words, the BFGA may be configured to: the specific heat capacity of the working material is also reduced in at least a portion of the aforementioned expansion of the working material, i.e., the expansion in the first expansion portion prior to the first compression and/or immediately upstream of the second opening. In other words, all expansion of the working material that occurs within the range of any BFGA associated with embodiments of the present invention, such as embodiment 430, may be subject to a lower specific heat capacity than that of the free stream of some embodiments. Similarly, as noted, all compression of the working material that occurs within the scope of any BFGA associated with embodiments of the present invention may be subject to a greater specific heat capacity than that of the free stream of some embodiments. For example, the extent of the BFGA may extend upstream of the first opening, into the interior of a channel, such as channel 432, and downstream of the second opening. As shown by fig. 15, 16, and 17, the first expansion prior to the first compression may be used in embodiments operating at subsonic and low supersonic free stream flow rates. At larger supersonic free stream flow rates, pre-expansion need not bring a benefit, as shown in fig. 15, which may refer to the thrust or power output of the engine or embodiment, as compared to a configuration without pre-expansion, as shown in fig. 6.

As described in the context of fig. 10, other embodiments may be configured to sequentially and continuously expand and compress a working material flowing through the embodiment, where the BFGA is used to modify the specific heat capacity of the working material. For embodiments where the object is generating thrust or generating power, the specific heat capacity of the working material may be configured to: greater than a free flow value during at least a portion of compression of the working material and/or less than a free flow value during at least a portion of expansion of the working material. For example, a working material interacting with an embodiment of the present invention may be subjected to, sequentially in time: expansion at free flow specific heat capacity, compression at greater than free flow specific heat capacity, expansion at less than free flow specific heat capacity, compression at greater than free flow specific heat capacity, and expansion at free flow specific heat capacity. The change in specific heat capacity may be configured to: occurs between successive compressions and expansions and may be facilitated by varying the activation level of at least one BFGA in relation to the working material. Note that compression and expansion are continuous in time and need not necessarily occur sequentially in space. For example, during interaction within embodiments of the present invention, the working material may be located within the chamber and the compression and expansion may be performed by a piston configured to reduce or increase the volume of the chamber. After the last expansion, the working material may be discharged into the free stream at atmospheric pressure, wherein the discharge may be through a valve and/or through a second opening. Note that in the case where the working material is discharged into the atmosphere, the discharge usually occurs at ambient atmospheric pressure. In another example, working materials that interact with embodiments of the present invention may be subjected to, sequentially in time: expansion below the free flow specific heat capacity, compression above the free flow specific heat capacity, and expansion below the free flow specific heat capacity. The change in specific heat capacity may be configured to: occurs between successive compressions and expansions, or before the first compression, or after the last expansion, and may be facilitated by varying the activation level of at least one BFGA relative to the working material. In another example, working materials that interact with embodiments of the present invention may be subjected to, sequentially in time: compression at free flow specific heat capacity and expansion at lower than free flow specific heat capacity. In another example, as shown in fig. 15, 16, and 17, working materials that interact with embodiments of the present invention may be subjected to, sequentially in time: expansion at free flow specific heat capacity, compression at greater than free flow specific heat capacity, and expansion at free flow specific heat capacity. In another example, as shown in fig. 6, a working material interacting with an embodiment of the present invention may be subjected to sequentially in time: compression at a heat capacity greater than the free flow ratio and expansion at a heat capacity greater than the free flow ratio. In another example, working materials that interact with embodiments of the present invention may be subjected to, sequentially in time: compression at a heat capacity greater than free flow, expansion at a heat capacity greater than free flow, compression at a heat capacity greater than free flow, and expansion at a heat capacity greater than free flow. In another example, working materials that interact with embodiments of the present invention may be subjected to, sequentially in time: compression at free flow specific heat capacity, expansion at less than free flow specific heat capacity, compression at less than free flow specific heat capacity, and expansion at less than free flow specific heat capacity. In another example, working materials that interact with embodiments of the present invention may be subjected to, sequentially in time: compression at free flow specific heat capacity, expansion at less than free flow specific heat capacity, compression at less than free flow specific heat capacity, expansion at less than free flow specific heat capacity, and compression at free flow specific heat capacity.

Note that in other embodiments, other types of BFGA may be used to manipulate the specific heat capacity of the working material. For example, the BFGA may be configured to: the working material is ionized by converting atoms or molecules within the working material into positively or negatively charged ions. For example, where the working material is a gas, the BFGA may be configured to: ionize molecules in the working material and convert the working material at least partially into a cold plasma or a non-hot plasma. In such a plasma, the fraction of molecules ionized exceeds the fraction of molecules ionized due to the temperature and pressure of the gas itself. In other words, the degree of ionization is greater than the natural degree of ionization that can theoretically be expected within the working material at a given temperature and pressure of the gas. The degree of ionization is a measure of both the fraction of molecules that are ionized and the average amount of charge per object of interest, which may refer to atoms, molecules, or free electrons. In some embodiments, the BFGA may be configured to interact with the working material in the following manner: the ionization degree of the working material exceeds the natural ionization degree of the working material at the same temperature and pressure. Note that in some embodiments, the BFGA may also be configured to interact with the working material in the following manner: the ionization degree of the working material is lower than the natural ionization degree of the working material under the same temperature and pressure. For example, the degree of ionization of a working material to be naturally at least partially ionized at a sufficiently large temperature may be reduced by artificially generating excess electrons. By modifying the ionization degree of the working material to a value that is higher or lower than the natural, theoretical or undisturbed ionization degree of the working material at the same temperature and pressure, the specific heat capacity of the working material can be modified in comparison to the natural specific heat capacity.

The modification of the specific heat capacity due to the change in ionization degree may be the result of several effects. For example, an increase in the degree of ionization of the working material may increase the range of interatomic or intermolecular forces and the magnitude of the average, where the average is calculated over time. Note that the range of Coulomb interaction between charges (Coulomb interaction) is infinite. This may increase the average potential energy of the object of interest, e.g. an atom, a molecule or a free electron. Note that the intermolecular force may be generated by an interaction between a neutral object such as a neutral atom or molecule and another neutral object. Such interactions may include dipole-dipole interactions or Van der Waals interactions. Intermolecular forces can also result from the interaction of charged objects, such as positively or negatively charged ions or free electrons, with neutral objects. Intermolecular forces may also result from the interaction between at least two charged objects, such as positively or negatively charged ions or free electrons. Such interactions may include coulombic interactions between equally charged or oppositely charged objects. In some embodiments, such as embodiments including monatomic molecules, an increase in the range and mean magnitude of interatomic forces may add three translational potential DOFs to the already existing three translational DOFs. In other words, the degree of excitation of the three additional translation potential DOF can be increased due to the artificial increase in ionization. This can artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material. Similarly, where the gas is naturally ionized due to a sufficiently large temperature, an artificial reduction in the degree of ionization may reduce the degree of excitation of any additional potential DOF. This can artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material. In some embodiments, such as embodiments including diatomic molecules, an increase in the degree of ionization of the working material may increase the degree of excitation of, for example, three translational potential DOF and two rotational potential DOF. Note that this effect is particularly enhanced at large densities where the average separation distance between adjacent objects is sufficiently small. Note that it can be theoretically assumed that very dense non-thermal plasmas resemble solid materials, e.g. metals such as aluminum. The number of DOFs of such solid materials includes three translational DOFs and three translational potential DOFs, corresponding to a total of 6 EDOFs when DE of each DOF is 1. In such solid materials and to a lesser extent, interatomic forces can contribute several potential DOF in the form of vibrational modes in the plasma. In a simplified model of the vibration modes including paired potential and dynamic rotational or translational DOF, the behavior of an object, i.e., an atom, a molecule, or a free electron, can be modeled as a simple harmonic oscillator. Thus, modification of the degree of ionization of the working material may be used to modify the specific heat capacity of the working material.

There are a wide variety of methods for modifying the degree of ionization of a working material. For example, the working material may be ionized via a dielectric barrier discharge. As mentioned in the context of fig. 13 and 14, the working material may also be ionized via a helical antenna, via field ionization, photo ionization or electron bombardment. Recall that in electron bombardment, a potential difference is generated across the working material. At a sufficiently large voltage, this may cause a flow of electrons through the working material, which results in collisions between the electrons and the molecules, which in turn may ionize the molecules in the working material. For example, the electron flow may take the form of a dark discharge, glow discharge or arc discharge. In some embodiments employing electron bombardment, an external magnetic field may be used to confine or at least temporarily trap at least a portion of the free electrons. The local magnetic field lines may be perpendicular to local electric field lines within the working material, which may temporarily trap free electrons and cause drift motion, also known as ExB drift, in a direction perpendicular to the electric and magnetic fields. This deflection, delay, trapping or concentration of electrons can increase the frequency of collisions between electrons and molecules of the working material and increase the efficiency of ionization. This principle is used in e.g. Hall-effect (Hall-effect) thrusters.

Note that the ionization device may also include a combination of any of the foregoing ionization device types or ionization methods. The ionization device may also include a variety of other ionization methods or other types of ionization devices known in the art.

In the context of the embodiment shown in fig. 15, the ionization device may be located between stations 443 and 444 or upstream of stations 443, and the ionization device may be configured to ionize at least a portion of the working material between stations 443 and 444. As a result of ionization, the specific heat capacity of the working material may be increased. As previously discussed, the increase may include, for example, an increase in the degree of excitation of the three translational potential DOF. In some embodiments, such as embodiments in which the working material comprises diatomic or polyatomic molecules, ionization can also polarize the molecules. The presence of a local electric field generated by adjacent ions or an externally applied electric field, such as those used in ionization processes or in acceleration or deceleration of the bulk flow of the working material, may cause an increase in the degree of excitation of the at least one rotational potential DOF. In the case of diatomic molecules, in such a scenario, for example, the degree of excitation of two rotational potential DOFs around axes perpendicular to the long axis of the molecule and to each other can be increased. Thus, in this idealized scenario, the ionization process can contribute 5 additional potential DOFs for the existing 5 mobile DOFs, which can increase the specific heat capacity of the working material.

In this exemplary embodiment, the geometry of the channel 432 and the arrangement of the ionization devices along the length of the channel may be configured in the following manner: the working material is substantially de-ionized between stations 446 and 447. Deionization may be the result of the natural recombination of free electrons with positively charged ions to form neutral molecules within the working material. In non-thermal plasma, there is no ionization device, and there is generally a tendency to return to natural ionization. Thus, to maintain a desired degree of ionization in excess of the natural degree of ionization of the entire working material between stations 443 and 447, some embodiments may include, for example, an ionization device that may interact with the working material between stations 443 and 447. Note that the ionization device configured to initiate ionization of the working material may be a different architecture or type of ionization device than the portion of the ionization device configured to maintain the desired degree of ionization. For example, the working material may be ionized via dielectric barrier discharge, and the degree of ionization may be maintained via electromagnetic waves such as microwaves or via photoionization.

As shown in fig. 15, once the degree of ionization of the working material has at least partially returned to the natural degree of ionization of the working material at a given temperature, the working material may be expanded through a converging-diverging nozzle. In this manner, embodiments employing ionization to modify the specific heat capacity of the working material may be configured in a manner similar to embodiment 430 shown in FIG. 15. Note the similarity in principle to the embodiments shown in fig. 13 and 14. Note that ionization means is synonymous with volumetric force generation means or BFGA as used herein. An increase in the activation level of the ionization device increases the ionization degree of the working material, thus increasing the average magnitude and duration of the volumetric force acting on the working material. In this case, the volume force acting on the molecules in the working material is in this case at least partially provided by adjacent molecules. The change in the activation level of the ionization device is synonymous with the change in the activation level of the BFGA as used herein. The foregoing examples illustrate how different types of BFGA may be employed to artificially modify the specific heat capacity of a working material. Devices employing other types of BFGA are also within the scope of the present invention.

As mentioned in the context of fig. 13, the energy consumed by the ionization device may be provided by an external power source. The energy may also be provided by a thermodynamic device configured to: thermal energy is extracted from the working material and at least a portion of the thermal energy is converted into a useful form of energy, such as mechanical work or electricity. For example, an axial flow turbine may be located within the passage 432 and configured to convert at least a portion of the thermal energy of the working material into useful mechanical work, which in turn may be converted into electrical work via a generator mechanically coupled to the turbine. The turbine may be located downstream of the station 447 or near the station 447. Note that the flow between the first throat and the second throat is subsonic.

In other embodiments, a thermoelectric generator, such as a generator employing the Peltier effect (Peltier effect), may be used to convert a portion of the thermal energy of the working material in channel 432 into electricity. For example, a thermoelectric generator may be located at station 447. Note that the peak temperature within tunnel 432 is near station 447. Where a thermoelectric generator requires a heat sink, the heat sink may be located near station 443 or station 444 and the heat sink is configured to transfer heat to the working material in channel 432. Note that the lowest temperature within tunnel 432 is approximately near station 444. A heat sink of the thermoelectric generator may also be located downstream of the second opening and configured to transfer heat to the working material proximate to station 449. The heat sink may also be located in the free stream of working material and configured to transfer heat to the working material at the free stream temperature. Where embodiments of the present invention, such as embodiment 430, are configured to provide thrust to an aircraft, the heat sink may be thermally coupled to an outer surface of the aircraft, such as a skin of a fuselage, wing, nacelle, or tail. Although the temperature in the free stream is greater than the temperature at station 443 or 444, the larger area of the exterior surface of the aircraft or other vehicle that interacts with the working material may increase the heat flux through the thermoelectric generator and thereby increase the net power generated.

Note that after the deionization process, the energy consumed in the ionization process is transferred to the working material as heat or thermal energy. In contrast to the embodiment shown in fig. 15, this thermal energy may be considered as additional energy provided alone that may be extracted from the working material without incurring excessive performance losses. In some embodiments, all of the energy consumed by the ionization device in the ionization of the working material is provided by a thermodynamic energy conversion device configured to extract thermal energy from the working material. In some embodiments, the theoretical maximum conversion efficiency of thermal energy into useful energy, such as electricity, by a thermodynamic energy conversion device may be 100%.

In other embodiments, other types of BFGA may be employed. For example, the BFGA may include a magnetic field generating device.

Consider the example where the object comprises a permanent or induced magnetic dipole, and where activation of the BFGA comprises modification of the magnetic field strength within the working material. For simplicity, consider the following case: the externally applied field is substantially uniform in size and direction throughout the working material. In general, and in other embodiments, the field strength and direction need not be uniform, as long as the field strength is of a magnitude sufficient to achieve the desired DE for a given DOF. In this example, the working material is considered to be a diatomic gas, such as oxygen. As described above, a diatomic gas at room temperature includes about 5 EDOFs associated with three translational DOFs and two rotational DOFs, where the rotations are about two axes perpendicular to the long axis of the molecule and to each other. In this example, the object is a dioxygen molecule.

In this case, the externally applied magnetic field may generate a moment about the centroid of the molecule for which the magnetic dipole or polarisation axis or net magnetic moment vector or net spin of the object is not aligned with the magnetic field lines. This moment is generated by the volumetric force per unit mass acting on a part of the molecule, e.g. electrons and a part of electrons, in a position and orientation that results in a non-uniform line of action of the volumetric force. Since moments act on molecules whose dipole axes are not aligned with the externally applied field, rotation of the dipole axes may be associated with work done against or by the externally applied field, which may change the potential energy of the molecules. This rotation can be expressed in terms of rotation about two axes perpendicular to each other and the dipole axis. Thus, an externally applied electric or magnetic field adds two vibration modes to the DOF of the molecule. In effect, the BFGA is configured to excite two additional rotational potential DOF. The DE of these additional rotational potential DOFs is a function of the molecular geometry and the temperature or average energy of the molecules. For simplicity, consider the following hypothetical case: the magnetic dipole axis comprises a fundamental component parallel to the long axis of the molecule. In this case, the two existing rotational rotations EDOF of the molecule corresponding to rotations around two axes perpendicular to the long axis of the molecule and to each other coincide with two additional rotational potentials DOF generated by a magnetic field applied outside the BFGA. In some embodiments, the strength of the externally applied field may be configured in a manner that increases the DE of the two additional rotational potential DOF to a value greater than the excitation threshold. In other words, the transition temperature of the two rotational potential DOF may be artificially reduced to a value below the current temperature of the working material. The magnetic field generated by the activation of the BFGA may be adjusted to modify the DE of the additional rotational potential DOF in such a way that the additional rotational potential DOF is excited, i.e. becomes EDOF. For example, when the magnetic field strength increases from zero to a non-zero value, activation of the BFGA may cause the overall number of EDOFs for the working material to increase from 5 to 7 in the baseline case. This can increase the specific heat capacity of the working material at a constant volume and at a constant pressure, and reduce the ratio of the specific heat capacities.

In the hypothetical case where the magnetic dipole axis comprises a fundamental component perpendicular to the long axis of the molecule, one of the two additional rotational potential DOF is parallel to the long axis of the molecule and the other additional rotational potential DOF is perpendicular to the long axis of the molecule and the dipole axis. Since the rotational motion DOF, which is parallel to the long axis of the molecule in this example, is in a frozen state, the corresponding additional rotational potential DOF is also in a frozen state. In this case, the activation of the BFGA may be used, for example, to increase the total number of EDOFs of the working material from 5 to 6 in the baseline case, since the magnetic field strength increases from a zero value to a non-zero value.

For some embodiments, an externally applied magnetic field may also be employed to modify the DE or EDOF of existing DOFs. In continuation of the above example, consider the case where the activation of the BFGA is configured in the following manner: the magnetic field strength within the working material is further increased, i.e. beyond the level at which the additional rotational potential DOF is excited, i.e. EDOF. When the magnetic field strength is strong enough, the number of energy states available or reachable by the object for a given mean energy in the working material is reduced, wherein the energy states are in the affected rotational DOF, i.e. the DOF affected by the external magnetic field. The reduction in the number of energy levels available for an object may be considered to be due to an increase in stiffness, an increase in elastic constant, or an increase in natural frequency of the object in the affected DOF in the simplified model. In this simplified model, the object in the affected rotational potential and corresponding dynamic DOF is considered a rotating simple harmonic oscillator. In this model, the magnitude of the energy difference between adjacent energy levels is proportional to the natural frequency, which in turn is proportional to the square root of the elastic constant. For a given object's average total energy, an increase in the magnitude of the energy difference between the adjacent energy levels results in a decrease in the number of average energy levels occupied, available, or achievable in the object in a given DOF. This reduces the average energy of the object in the given DOF, thereby reducing the fraction of the total average energy of the object stored in or associated with the given DOF. Thus, an increase in the field strength of the externally applied magnetic field may reduce the degree of excitation of the affected DOF and, when the magnetic field is strong enough, result in freezing of the affected DOF. This increases the transition temperature of the affected DOF, which may be below or above the temperature of the working material.

In the above example of an external magnetic field applied to a diatomic gas, the magnetic dipole moment of the object is parallel to the long axis. As described above, the magnetic field may increase the total EDOF of the working material from 5 to 7 in the baseline case. However, as the magnetic field is further increased, the DE of the two additional rotational potentials DOF decreases, which also decreases the DE of the respective rotational degrees DOF. With other conditions unchanged, a decrease in DE of the affected DOF results in a decrease in specific heat capacity at constant volume and constant pressure, and increases the ratio of specific heat capacity. With a further increase of the magnetic field, the DE of the EDOF can be reduced to such an extent that the total number of EDOFs of the working material can be reduced from 7 to 3 due to the freezing of the two additional rotational potential DOF and the two corresponding rotational motion DOF.

In another example, consider a working material that is a solid. The specific heat capacity of a solid can be considered to include phonon, electron, magnetic and nuclear contributions. Phonon contribution is due to lattice vibrations of atoms in a solid. In a typical solid working material, the total number of DOF of atoms or molecules in an object, i.e. a solid, includes three flat-motion DOFs and three associated translational potential DOFs. The potential DOF results from interatomic or intermolecular forces between adjacent atoms or molecules acting on the solid working material. At sufficiently high temperatures, all six DOF are typically in an excited state. As the temperature decreases to zero, the DE of these DOF gradually decreases to a value close to zero. The thermal capacity of the nuclei, which may also include translational or rotational motion DOF and translational or rotational potential DOF, also contribute to the total thermal capacity of the solid in the form of the above-described nuclear contributions. The heat capacity of the electrons in the working material also contributes to the total heat capacity of the solid. As shown in the Sommerfeld model, Fermi-Dirac statistics describe the contribution of a fraction of electrons to the heat capacity, which is roughly linear in temperature. The contribution of magnetism to the thermal capacity of the working material may include, for example, electron spin, electron orbital angular momentum, or the spin of atomic nuclei. For example, consider a ferromagnetic material. These materials are ferromagnetic below the curie temperature and paramagnetic above the curie temperature. In such materials, the magnetic contribution to heat capacity typically includes two types of heat capacity. One type is the magnetic heat capacity of spin waves, which include magnons. This contribution to the thermal capacity is not negligible in the ferromagnetic state and generally decreases with decreasing temperature. Another type is the magnetic heat capacity due to the single spin DOF of the magnetic dipole, e.g., the spin of unpaired electrons. The contribution to heat capacity can be estimated by the izod model. In this model, the specific heat capacity of the object is generally symmetric with respect to the curie temperature, and increases at an increasing rate with increasing temperature below the curie temperature, and decreases at a decreasing rate with increasing temperature above the curie temperature. Due to the temperature dependence of these two types of magnetic specific heat capacities, the portion of the specific heat capacity associated with the magnetic spin DOF of an object in a ferromagnetic material is typically largest at the curie temperature. In some embodiments, the average operating temperature of the working material during nominal operation is near the average curie temperature of the working material. In some embodiments, the average operating temperature is within 20% of the average curie temperature. In other embodiments, the average operating temperature may be at any temperature relative to the curie temperature of the working material, as long as activation of the BFGA may result in modification of the specific heat capacity at a constant volume or constant pressure during nominal operation. Note that curie temperature is a function of pressure, and generally increases with increasing pressure. In some embodiments, the average operating temperature is lower than the temperature of an external environment, such as external environment 414. For example, the external environment may be the earth's atmosphere. For example, during nominal operation of one embodiment of the present invention, the temperature of the external environment may be 300 degrees kelvin. To achieve the desired rate of heat flow from the external environment to the working material, the average temperature of the working material may be 200 degrees kelvin. In this case, for some embodiments, the working material may comprise a ferromagnetic material, for example, for which the curie temperature is between 160 degrees kelvin and 240 degrees kelvin. For example, one such material is terbium, which has a curie temperature of about 219 degrees kelvin.

Note that, as described above, the curie temperature of the working material may be modified by doping and by externally applied pressure. Thus, the curie temperature of the working material may be modified to approximately match the average operating temperature of the working material, such that the composition of the magnetic contribution to the specific heat capacity of the working material, which may be modified by activating the BFGA, may be maximized. In other words, the curie temperature may be specially configured by an external pressure bias or by other mechanisms, such as doping, to maximize the change in the specific heat capacity of the working material, and activation of the BFGA may facilitate this change. The pressure bias may be applied by an actuation device, such as actuation device 403, or a separate actuation device configured to modify the average pressure of the working material. The pressure bias may also be applied by a sleeve of working material, such as sleeve device 410. For example, a pressure bias may be applied during the manufacturing process. In this case, the casing may be considered to be pre-stressed or under average stress during nominal operation.

Although the magnetic component of the specific heat capacity is generally large at phase transitions, e.g., transitions between ferromagnetic and paramagnetic, the magnetic component is also generally non-negligible at temperatures above and below the curie temperature. Thus, during nominal operation, the average operating temperature of the working material generally does not have to be close to the average curie temperature of the working material.

Note that at any temperature without a magnetic field, the specific heat capacity of the working material need not include a non-negligible magnetic component. As noted, modification of the activation level of the BFGA may induce a magnetic component of the specific heat capacity of the working material. In other words, the BFGA may contribute a magnetic component to the total thermal specific heat capacity of the working material. A sufficiently strong magnetic field experienced by an object having a magnetic dipole in the working material may also modify the non-magnetic contribution to the specific heat capacity of the working material. For example, as previously described, a sufficiently strong magnetic field may reduce the DE of the rotational dynamics DOF of the object.

Note that selecting a suitable working material for a given application involves theoretical or experimental evaluation of the material performance in that application as a function of many material properties, such as the magnitude of the difference in specific heat capacity at constant pressure due to BFGA activation during nominal operation. Selection of a suitable working material is not limited to and does not necessarily include evaluation of the curie temperature of the material.

In this example, consider an embodiment where the working material is a solid, with a substantial portion of its thermal capacity provided by the magnetic spins of the object, i.e., the electron orbitals, electrons, and nuclei. Examples of such materials are ferromagnetic or paramagnetic materials, such as iron, cobalt or nickel. Such materials are particularly suitable for modifying the specific heat capacity by applying or modifying an external magnetic field via activation of the BFGA. As described in the preceding paragraph, for example, application of an external magnetic field may increase the DE of the rotational potential DOF of a magnetic dipole, e.g., an electron spin. The external magnetic field may also reduce the DE of the rotational potential DOF and any associated rotational dynamics DOF of objects characterized by magnetic dipoles, such as electrons, when the external magnetic field strength is sufficiently strong. As the magnetic field is further increased, this can result in freezing of the affected DOF of these magnetic objects. As mentioned, the aforementioned freezing of the affected DOF by applying a sufficiently strong magnetic field can result in a decrease of the specific heat capacity at constant volume and constant pressure and an increase in the ratio of the specific heat capacity, with other conditions being unchanged.

Note that in general the effect of the application of the external magnetic field is not necessarily limited to rotational dynamics and potential DOFs, but may also be applied to other DOFs, e.g. translational dynamics DOFs of objects such as electrons. The latter may be affected in scenarios where the electron orbital angular momentum is affected by an externally applied magnetic field, as is the case, for example, in diamagnetic materials. In general, activation of the BFGA may be used in a subset of embodiments of the present invention to modify the DE of at least one DOF of the object. Activation of the BFGA may include modification of the intrinsic or additional magnetic field, which may facilitate modification of the average magnitude or direction of the magnetic volumetric force per unit mass acting on the object, which in turn may modify the DE of the affected DOF, which may be used to modify the magnetic component of the specific heat capacity of the working material, and thus modify the total specific heat capacity of the working material.

An example of the aforementioned reduction in the degree of excitation of the DOF of an object in the working material due to a sufficiently strong externally applied magnetic field is also referred to as the magnetocaloric effect. This effect is used for example for adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration. As used herein, "magnetocaloric effect" is used to refer to the modification of the specific heat capacity of a working material at constant pressure due to the modification of the magnetic field within the working material, where a modification may refer to an increase or decrease in the specific heat capacity at constant pressure as the magnetic field strength within the working material increases. As used herein, the positive sign magnetocaloric effect refers to a decrease in specific heat capacity at constant pressure associated with an increase in magnetic field strength within the working material. Accordingly, as used herein, a negative sign magnetocaloric effect refers to an increase in specific heat capacity at constant pressure associated with an increase in magnetic field strength within the working material. Note that as used in the literature, the magnetocaloric effect is generally associated with an effect referred to herein as the positive sign magnetocaloric effect.

A variety of working materials may be employed in embodiments of the present invention, wherein the specific heat capacity of the working material is magnetically modified. As noted, the working material may include paramagnetic or ferromagnetic materials as well as diamagnetic or ferrimagnetic materials. In general, embodiments of the present invention may be employed in subsets where the total or combined specific heat capacity includes magnetismAny material that contributes or has a magnetic component as a working material or component thereof. In the field of magnetic refrigeration, some materials are known whose specific heat capacity includes a large magnetic component. For example, Gd is known₅Si₂Ge₂And other materials such as PrNi₅Magnetocaloric effects are exhibited as described by https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic _ refragation, accessed on day 1, month 20, 2019. As mentioned, ferromagnetic materials such as iron, cobalt, nickel or gadolinium are also suitable working materials. Paramagnetic materials such as lithium, sodium, aluminum, gaseous oxygen, and liquid oxygen, as well as ferromagnetic materials above the curie temperature may also be used as working materials. Diamagnetic materials such as water, graphite, nitrogen or carbon dioxide may also be used as working materials in the presence of a sufficiently strong magnetic field generating means. Note that the magnitude and sign of the magnetocaloric effect of a material at a given temperature is only a rough indication that the working material is suitable for a given application.

Note that the working material need not be a solid as in the previous examples, but may also be a fluid such as a liquid or a gas. For example, the working material may include gaseous lithium or oxygen. In some embodiments, the working material may include an active material and a passivation material. Active materials are defined as materials whose specific heat capacity can be modified by activation of the BFGA. The passivation material is a material that does not need to undergo a change in specific heat capacity by activation of the BFGA. The active material may be embedded in the passivation material. For example, the active material may be small particles, dust particles, aerosols, or crystals. In a subset of the passivation material, the active material may also be dissolved in the passivation material. In some embodiments, for example, the active material may be iron or gadolinium, and the passivating material may be air, water, or a hydrocarbon such as oil.

In some embodiments, the active material may bind to other materials, such as ligands, to maintain separation between separate bodies of the active material. This may prevent atoms or molecules of the active material from binding to each other and thereby separating themselves from the passivation material. This may prevent, for example, iron atoms from forming solids and thereby becoming separated from the liquid or gaseous passivation material. Thus, the desired phase of the active material can be maintained relative to a baseline scenario in which the active material is not bound to the ligand, but everything else is constant. For example, the desired phase may be a fluid phase. In some embodiments, a working material that is a fluid may be advantageous for a working material that is a solid. For example, in embodiments employing forced convection, the rate of heat transfer between the working material and a second material, such as an external reservoir, may be increased. In such embodiments, working material may be pumped from an internal chamber, such as internal chamber 401, through a separate heat exchanger between stations 356 and 352 on the thermodynamic cycle shown in fig. 6. Pumping the working material through the heat exchanger with forced convection, using a specially configured heat exchanger, and using an additional solid active material having desirable magnetocaloric properties, may increase the rate of heat transfer between the external environment 414 and the working material. This, in turn, may increase the power generated by such an embodiment, as compared to an embodiment in which the working material comprises only a solid active material, with other conditions remaining unchanged.

Maintaining separation between atoms or molecules of the active material and the passivation material or between adjacent atoms or molecules of the active material using the ligand may also increase the number of DOFs available to the object of the active material. For example, binding of the ligand to the active material may provide the active material with additional rotational dynamics and potential DOF associated with the rotation of the atom or molecule and the orientation of the permanent or induced magnetic dipole of the atom or molecule in the magnetic field when compared to a baseline scenario for the active material. This may further increase the magnitude of the change in the specific heat capacity of the working material in response to BFGA activation.

Embodiments of the present invention employing positive or negative magnetocaloric effects may be configured in a variety of ways. For example, for an embodiment configured in a similar manner to the embodiment shown in fig. 15, a magnetic field may be generated within the tunnel 432 by the BFGA between stations 443 and 447. The magnetic field may be configured to be strong enough such that the working material exhibits a negative magnetocaloric effect, i.e., as the magnetic field strength within the working material increases, i.e., as the activation level of the BFGA increases, the specific heat capacity increases and the temperature decreases at constant pressure. The magnetic field may be generated in a variety of ways. Note that in this case, the direction of the magnetic field lines is not important. The magnitude of the magnetocaloric effect is a strong function of the magnetic field strength. For example, the magnetic field within channel 432 may be generated by a set of current carrying wires. In some embodiments, the wire may be wound around channel 432 in a solenoid fashion and generate a magnetic field substantially parallel to the Y-axis, i.e., the length of the channel, for a majority of channel 432. For example, in the cross-sectional view shown in fig. 15, the wire of the BFGA may be located at the approximate location of the first charge aggregate 451 and the second charge aggregate 455, where the wire is wound around the channel 432 in a circular manner. For example, current flowing through the wire of the BFGA may be directed into the page in a portion of the wire at the location of the first charge aggregate 451 and out of the page in a portion of the wire at the location of the second charge aggregate 455. As in the case of the BFGA 450, the magnetic field generating BFGA may be powered by a separate power supply in this example and/or the current flowing through the wire may be regulated by a current regulator. In some embodiments, the current carrying wire may be superconducting. In some embodiments, the current carrying wires may be normally conductive.

In some embodiments, the magnetic field generating BFGA may include a permanent magnet. For example, the permanent magnets may be arranged in an annular manner around the channel 432. In some embodiments, the poles of adjacent permanent magnets may be arranged in a Halbach array (Halbach array) in which a majority of the magnetic field lines pass through the passage 432 or through the permanent magnets contained within the bulk material, and only a small portion of the magnetic field lines pass through the outer surface 460. The arrangement of magnets in a halbach array may increase the magnetic field strength within the channel 432.

Embodiments employing a magnetic field generating BFGA may be configured in a manner similar to the embodiment shown in fig. 15 or any other embodiment shown in other figures, where the electric field generating BFGA is replaced by a magnetic field generating BFGA, for example. In such embodiments, a negative magnetocaloric effect as opposed to a negative electrocaloric effect may be employed to modify the specific heat capacity of the working material. As previously described, some embodiments may employ positive electrical heating effects. For example, the electric-field-generating BFGA may be located near the second throat, where the electric field is configured to be strong enough to reduce the affected potential and DE of the associated dynamic DOF in the following manner: the specific heat capacity of the working material flowing through passage 432 may be reduced during at least a portion of the expansion of the working material between stations 446 and 449. Similar to the previous example using a positive magnetocaloric effect, some embodiments may employ a positive magnetocaloric effect. For example, the magnetic field generating BFGA may be located near the second throat, where the magnetic field is configured to be strong enough to reduce the affected potential and DE of the associated dynamic DOF in the following manner: the specific heat capacity of the working material flowing through passage 432 may be reduced during at least a portion of the expansion of the working material between stations 446 and 449. A variety of other configurations have been discussed that employ positive or negative electrothermal effects. Similarly, there are a variety of configurations that can employ positive and negative magnetocaloric effects.

In some embodiments, the BFGA may include both magnetic field-generating BFGA and electric field-generating BFGA. For example, some embodiments may employ both negative thermoelectricity effects and negative magnetocaloric effects. Note that in some cases, the negative magnetocaloric effect may be induced or enhanced by polarization of the molecules by electric field generation BFGA.

For example, consider a scenario in which the working material comprises diatomic molecules. In this case, the electric field generating BFGA may be configured in a similar manner to the BFGA 450 shown in fig. 15. The magnetic field generating BFGA may be configured to generate a magnetic field whose field lines include a fundamental component that is perpendicular to the page and directed out of the page. Due to the electrical polarization of the diatomic molecules within the working material near the electric field generating BFGA, the negative charges within the molecules tend to lie in the positive X direction of the positive charges within the molecules. Due to the presence of the magnetic field and due to the overall flow of working material through the channel 432 in the positive Y-direction, there may be lorentz forces on the positive and negative charges within the molecule, which may also act on the negative charges in the positive X-direction and on the positive charges in the negative X-direction on average. Thus, a magnetic field may be employed to increase the magnitude of the volumetric force acting on the molecules in the working material. At smaller magnitudes of net volume force and volume torque or volume moment, an increase in the magnitude of the volume force can increase the DE of any affected potential DOF in the negative electrothermal effect and the negative magnetocaloric effect. At large magnitudes of net volume force and volume torque, an increase in the magnitude of the volume force can reduce the DE of any affected potential DOF in the positive electrothermal effect and the positive magnetocaloric effect due to the freezing of the affected potential DOF and associated dynamic DOF. Note that for molecules that are traveling instantaneously in the negative Y direction, the magnetic volume force may at least partially cancel or reduce the electrical volume force. This illustrates the need to configure the direction and magnitude of the magnetic field relative to the direction and magnitude of any electric field, where the configuration is also a function of the thermodynamic properties of the working material, such as the average flow rate and temperature of the working material, and the polarizability and preferred polarization axis of the working material, along with other parameters.

In some cases, at least a portion of the magnetocaloric effect may be independent of the electrothermal effect. For example, the magnetocaloric effect may be the result of the interaction of a magnetic field with a permanent or induced magnetic dipole within the molecules of the working material. An example of such a dipole is the electron spin within a molecule. In a subset of these cases, the direction of the magnetic field lines of the magnetic field generating BFGA and the direction of the electric field lines of the electric field generating BFGA may be configured relative to each other in a manner that constructively superimposes the magnetocaloric and electrocaloric effects. In other words, the magnitude of the volumetric force and the magnitude of the volumetric torque acting on the molecules in the working material due to the magnetic and electric fields applied by the BFGA may be configured to: with increasing magnetic field and/or increasing electric field. Accordingly, the magnetic field generating BFGA and the electric field generating BFGA may be configured relative to each other to increase the magnitude of the change in the specific heat capacity of the working material.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention. Some features of the apparatus shown in fig. 16 and some principles of operation of the apparatus share similarities with the apparatus shown in other figures, and therefore the same detailed description will not be made in the context of fig. 16, and vice versa. With the exception of the BFGA 510, the illustrated embodiment 490 is symmetrical in the form of a cylinder about an axis parallel to the Y-axis and coincident with the center of the embodiment 490. Thus, the outer surface 520 is in the shape of a body of revolution or cylinder with a variable radius along the Y-axis.

Embodiment 490 includes a channel 492 having an interior surface 522 between first opening 493 and second opening 500, wherein the channel includes a first constriction 494, a first expansion 495, a second constriction 496, a second expansion 497, a third constriction 498, and a third expansion 499. The cross-sectional geometry of the channel 492 is circular when viewed along the Y-direction. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry or outer surface 520 of the channel 492 can be square or rectangular. In some embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry of portions of the channel 492 can vary from square to circular along the length of the channel, i.e., in the positive Y-direction or the negative Y-direction, for example.

The bulk material 491 may comprise a metal such as aluminum, titanium, or steel. The bulk material 491 may also include a ceramic. In some embodiments, the bulk material 491 comprises a composite material, such as carbon fiber or glass fiber. Bulk material 491 may also include an electrical insulator such as glass.

In fig. 16, the embodiment 490 is moving at a constant velocity magnitude and direction relative to the working material. The free stream velocity direction of the upstream working material relative to embodiment 490 is aligned evenly with the Y-axis, i.e., from the left side of the page to the right side of the page. For clarity of description, it is assumed that the upstream working material is constant in space and time with respect to the velocity magnitude and direction of embodiment 490.

The working material may be, for example, a gas such as air, helium or nitrogen. The working material may also be a liquid such as water. In the embodiment shown in fig. 16, the working material is considered to be an ideal gas for simplicity. In fig. 16, the working material is considered to be a diatomic ideal gas for clarity of description. In the embodiment of fig. 16, the working material may be any suitable material, where suitable conditions are explained below.

In the configuration shown in fig. 16, the working material upstream of embodiment 490, for example at station 501, moves relative to embodiment 490 more slowly than the speed of sound in the working material upstream of embodiment 490. The magnitude of the velocity of the working material relative to the embodiment 490 may be less than the magnitude of the velocity of the working material relative to the embodiments shown in fig. 6 and 15. The first constriction 494 and the first expansion 495 are configured to: causing the working material flowing through the channel 492 to expand in the positive Y-direction. The first throat is defined as the portion of the channel 492 having the smallest cross-sectional area of the channel 492 between the first constriction 494 and the first expansion 495 when viewed along the Y-direction. The average velocity of the working material at the first throat relative to embodiment 490 is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this particular mode of operation, upstream, e.g., at station 501, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound, and further downstream, e.g., at station 503, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound within the working material at that location.

Both the second constricting portion 496 and the second expanding portion 497 of the channel 492 are configured to compress the working material flowing through the channel 492 in the positive Y-direction. The second throat is defined as the portion of the channel 492 having the smallest cross-sectional area of the channel 492 between the second constriction 496 and the second expansion 497 when viewed along the Y-direction. The average velocity of the working material at the second throat relative to embodiment 490 is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this particular mode of operation, upstream, e.g., at station 503 or 504, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound, and further downstream, e.g., at station 506, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In some embodiments, there may be a shockwave located between the second throat and the station 506 or between the second throat and the station 507. In other words, the relative flow velocity of the working material downstream of the second throat may be faster than the speed of sound within the working material, wherein the relative flow velocity is reduced to a velocity that is slower than the speed of sound in the entire shock wave prior to either station 506 or 507.

The expansion of the working material between stations 501 and 503 increases the average velocity of the working material flowing through the passageway 492. In this simplified example, the expansion may be described as a substantially adiabatic expansion. In this embodiment, the compression of the working material between stations 504 and 506 may be described as a substantially adiabatic compression. In other embodiments, compression may include heat transfer from or to the working material. In other embodiments, such compression may be performed at least in part by an axial compressor, such as that found in conventional jet engines. In other embodiments, such compression may be performed at least in part, for example, by a centrifugal compressor. To reduce the wave drag associated with the rotor blades of the compressor, the axial or centrifugal compressor is preferably located in a portion of the subsonic fluid flow passing through passage 432, for example between the second throat and station 506 or between the second throat and station 507.

Both the third constriction 498 and the third expansion 499 of the channel 492 are configured to expand and accelerate the working material flowing through the channel 492 in the positive Y-direction. The third throat is defined as the portion of the channel 492 having the smallest cross-sectional area of the channel 492 between the third constriction 498 and the third expansion 499 as viewed along the Y-direction. The average velocity of the working material at the third throat relative to embodiment 490 is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this embodiment, upstream, e.g., at station 507, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound, and downstream, e.g., at station 509, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound within the working material. In this embodiment, the expansion of the working material between station 507 and station 509 may be described as a substantially adiabatic expansion. In other embodiments, the expansion may include heat transfer from or to the working material. In other embodiments, such expansion may be performed at least in part by an axial turbine, such as an axial turbine found in conventional jet engines, such as turbojet engines, turbofan engines, or turboshaft engines. In other embodiments, such expansion may be performed, at least in part, by a centrifugal turbine, for example. To reduce the wave drag associated with the rotor blades of the turbine, the axial or centrifugal turbine is preferably located in a portion of the subsonic fluid flow through the passage 492, for example between the station 507 and the third throat. In some such embodiments, the working material downstream of the embodiments may move relative to the embodiments at a speed slower than the speed of sound in the working material. In other words, for embodiments in which an axial or centrifugal turbine or equivalent device is located between the station 507 and the third throat, the third expansion 499 of the passageway 492 is not required, such that the third throat is also the second opening 500, and such that the average flow velocity downstream of the second opening is subsonic with respect to the device 490. Indeed, a portion of the thermal energy contained within the working material at station 507 may be converted into useful mechanical shaft work by conventional axial or centrifugal turbines, resulting in a smaller average flow velocity downstream of the equivalent second opening. For example, the drive shaft of an axial flow turbine may be used to power a generator configured to convert at least a portion of the shaft work into electrical energy. In another example, the drive shaft of the axial turbine may be mechanically coupled to a fan of a turbofan engine or a propeller of a turboprop engine. In some embodiments, the mechanical coupling may include a gear train, such as a planetary gear. The details of such configurations and their application are well known in the field of conventional aircraft turbines or power turbines.

Dashed lines 518 and 519 represent stagnation streamlines incident on the leading edge or originating from the trailing edge of embodiment 490. Thus, the flow lines 518 and 519 are part of a flow surface or flow tube that separates the working material flowing around the embodiment 490 from the working material flowing through the channel 492 of the embodiment 490. In this embodiment, the flow tube is circular when viewed along the Y direction.

A volumetric force generation device or "BFGA" 510 per unit mass is located near the channel 492. The BFGA 450 is configured to be capable of applying at least one volumetric force per unit mass to an object, e.g., an atom or molecule, of the working material. In this embodiment, the magnitude of the volume force may be adjusted. BFGA 510 includes a first charge aggregate 511 and a second charge aggregate 515. In the configuration shown, the first charge assembly 511 is positively charged and the second charge assembly 515 is negatively charged. In other embodiments, the polarity of the charges in the charge aggregates may be reversed, i.e. the first charge aggregate is negatively charged and the second charge aggregate is positively charged.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 16, the amount of charges in the charge aggregate can be adjusted by charging or discharging or reducing the charges in the charge aggregate. In such embodiments, the charge aggregate may include a conductor that is capable of promoting accumulation of charge or reduction in the amount of charge contained within the conductor. In some such embodiments, in some cases, the amount of charge in the charge aggregate may be configured to be zero over time. The charging process may include: a voltage difference is applied across first charge aggregate 511 and second charge aggregate 515. The voltage difference may be provided by a battery or a capacitor, for example. First charge aggregate 511 and second charge aggregate 515 are electrically insulated from each other and from portions of bulk material 491. An electrical conductor, such as an insulated copper wire, connects the first charge aggregate 511 to a voltage source and the second charge aggregate 515 to the voltage source. These electrical conductors are not shown. Between the first charge aggregate 511 and the channel 492 and between the second charge aggregate 511 and the channel 492, the bulk material 491 is an electrical insulator. In practice, first charge aggregate 511 and second charge aggregate 515 may be considered to be relatively conductive plates of a capacitor, with the dielectric between these plates comprising the working material and the relevant portion of bulk material 491 between first charge aggregate 511 and second charge aggregate 515. In the illustrated embodiment, first charge aggregate 511 and second charge aggregate 515 are configured as follows: when first charge aggregate 511 and second charge aggregate 515 are oppositely charged, a majority of the electric field lines pass through the working material within channel 492. To this end, first charge aggregate 511 and second charge aggregate 515 may include several insulated conductors. These conductors may be, for example, wires, and may be arranged in the first charge aggregate 511 in parallel to the Y axis. This can be used to prevent or reduce any undesirable redistribution of charge within first charge aggregate 511 and second charge aggregate 515.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, and as described below, the role of the BFGA 510 during nominal operation is: the increase in specific heat capacity of the working material in the channel 492 near the BFGA 510 at constant pressure. In the embodiment and the operation method shown in fig. 16, for the sake of simplicity, the pressure of the working material is constant during the increase or decrease of the specific heat capacity of the working material at a constant pressure. An increase in specific heat capacity at constant pressure corresponds to a decrease in temperature and an increase in density of the working material. In FIG. 16, this increase in specific heat capacity at constant pressure occurs between station 503 and station 504. In this embodiment, the specific heat capacity at constant pressure is substantially constant between station 504 and station 506. Between station 506 and station 507, the specific heat capacity at constant pressure is reduced to the original value at station 503 or station 501. For the embodiment shown in fig. 16, the increase in the specific heat capacity of the working material may be considered to be an electronegative heating effect.

Indeed, the transition from station 503 to station 504 may be described as an isobaric compression or isobaric reduction in volume. In other embodiments or other boundary conditions or other methods of operation, the pressure need not be constant throughout the change in specific heat capacity. For example, the pressure may be increased or decreased during an increase or decrease in specific heat capacity at a constant pressure. For example, work may be done on the working material by a compression or expansion device, such as contraction or expansion of a pipe or channel 492 or an axial turbine or compressor, or heat or mass may be added or removed from the working material. In the simplified embodiment shown in fig. 16, no heat or mass is exchanged between the working material within the channel 492 of the embodiment 490 and the rest of the embodiment 490. In another example, the increase or decrease in specific heat capacity may occur at a constant volume during the isochoric process. In another example, the increase or decrease in specific heat capacity may occur in a polytropic process.

The magnitude of the average potential energy of the objects within the working material may be adjusted by the BFGA. According to some embodiments of the present invention, the activation level of the BFGA controls the strength of the volumetric force per unit mass, which in turn adjusts the average potential energy of objects within the working material, which may be used to control the specific heat capacity of the working material.

Note that under the isobaric scenario shown in fig. 16, work is done on the working material throughout the activation of the BFGA and the density increases while the temperature decreases adiabatically, i.e., no heat exchange is made with the heat store other than the working material.

Note that for simplicity, in the embodiment shown in fig. 16, it is assumed that the change in the activation level of the BFGA does not consume work. In some embodiments, the activation of the BFGA may consume work. In some such embodiments, at least a portion of this work may be recovered, where recovery may occur during deactivation of the BFGA or during conversion of thermal energy to useful energy, such as mechanical or electrical work.

Fig. 16 also shows a plot of the approximate value of the physical parameter of the working material within the channel 492 as a function of position along the Y-direction.

A horizontal axis 527 parallel to the Y axis represents a position along the Y direction at which the corresponding physical parameter is measured. The vertical axis 528, parallel to the X-axis, shows the value of the physical parameter. Note that the scale of the vertical axis 528 is different for different physical parameters, i.e., different lines shown in the graph. In free flow, the working material is approximately at standard pressure and temperature, at a natural specific heat capacity at constant pressure, and at a free flow rate.

Line 529 shows the magnitude of the average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 490 as a function of position in the Y direction. Line 530 shows the value of the magnitude of the working material at station 501 relative to the average velocity of embodiment 490 for reference. Note that the magnitude of the average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 490 at station 509 is greater than the magnitude of the average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 490 at station 501.

Line 531 shows the change in specific heat capacity of the working material at constant pressure with position along the Y direction. Line 532 shows the value of specific heat capacity at station 501 at constant pressure for reference.

Line 533 shows the change in temperature of the working material with position in the Y direction. Line 534 shows the value of the temperature at station 501 for reference. Note that the temperature at station 509 is lower than the temperature at station 501. Thus, the embodiment 490 may be considered to cool the working material flowing through the channel 492 or to refrigerate the working material flowing through the channel 492.

Line 535 shows the static pressure of the working material as a function of position in the Y direction. Line 536 shows the value of the static pressure at station 501 for reference.

Some embodiments of the present invention produce a net mechanical work output. In the embodiment shown, mechanical work is used to accelerate the working material as shown by the greater average relative velocity 529 of the working material at station 509 as compared to station 501. The associated thrust may be used to counteract at least a portion of the drag forces acting on embodiment 490 and any devices connected thereto, such as the remainder of an aircraft, due to movement through the working material. In such applications, the embodiment 490 may be operated in a manner similar to a conventional ramjet engine.

Mechanical work can also be converted into electrical energy in a number of ways.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention. Some features of the apparatus shown in fig. 17 and some principles of operation of the apparatus share similarities with the apparatus shown in other figures, and therefore the same detailed description will not be made in the context of fig. 17, and vice versa. With the exception of the BFGA 570, the illustrated embodiment 550 is symmetrical in the form of a cylinder about an axis parallel to the Y-axis and coincident with the center of the embodiment 550. Thus, the outer surface 580 is in the shape of a body of revolution or cylinder with a variable radius along the Y-axis.

Embodiment 550 includes a channel 552 having an inner surface 582 between a first opening 553 and a second opening 560, wherein the channel includes a first constriction 554, a first expansion 555, a second constriction 556, a second expansion 557, and a third constriction 558. The cross-sectional geometry of the channel 552 is circular when viewed along the Y-direction. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional geometry or outer surface 580 of the channel 552 may be square or rectangular. In some embodiments, for example, the cross-sectional geometry of a portion of channel 552 may vary from square to circular along the length of the channel, i.e., in the positive Y-direction or the negative Y-direction.

The bulk material 551 may include a metal such as aluminum, titanium, or steel. The bulk material 551 may also include a ceramic. In some embodiments, the bulk material 551 comprises a composite material, such as carbon fiber or glass fiber. The bulk material 551 may also include an electrical insulator such as glass.

In fig. 17, the embodiment 550 is moved at a constant speed magnitude and direction relative to the working material. The upstream working material is aligned with the Y-axis, i.e., pointing from the left side of the page to the right side of the page, on average relative to the free stream velocity direction of embodiment 550. For clarity of description, it is assumed that the upstream working material is constant in space and time with respect to the velocity magnitude and direction of embodiment 550.

For example, the working material may be a gas such as air, helium, or nitrogen. The working material may also be a liquid such as water. In the embodiment shown in fig. 17, the working material is considered to be an ideal gas for simplicity. In fig. 17, the working material is considered to be a diatomic ideal gas for clarity of description. In the embodiment of fig. 17, the working material may be any suitable material, where suitable conditions are explained below.

In the configuration shown in fig. 17, the working material upstream of the embodiment 550, for example at station 561, moves relative to the embodiment 550 more slowly than the speed of sound in the working material upstream of the embodiment 550. The magnitude of the velocity of the working material relative to the embodiment 550 may be less than the magnitude of the velocity of the working material relative to the embodiments shown in fig. 6, 15, and 16. First constriction 554 and first expansion 555 are configured to expand the working material flowing through channel 552 in the positive Y-direction. The first throat is defined as the portion of the channel 552 having the smallest cross-sectional area of the channel 552 between the first constriction 554 and the first expansion 555 when viewed along the Y-direction. The average velocity of the working material at the first throat relative to the embodiment 550 is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this particular mode of operation, upstream, for example at station 561, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound, and further downstream, for example at station 563, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound within the working material at that location.

Both the second constriction 556 and the second expansion 557 of the channel 552 are configured to compress the working material flowing through the channel 552 in the positive Y-direction. The second throat is defined as the portion of the channel 552 having the smallest cross-sectional area of the channel 552 between the second constriction 556 and the second expansion 557 when viewed along the Y-direction. The average velocity of the working material at the second throat relative to the embodiment 550 is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this particular mode of operation, upstream, e.g., at station 563 or station 564, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound, and further downstream, e.g., at station 566 or station 567, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In some embodiments, there may be a shockwave located between the second throat and the station 566 or between the second throat and the station 567. In other words, the relative flow velocity of the working material downstream of the second throat may be faster than the speed of sound within the working material, wherein the relative flow velocity is reduced to a velocity that is slower than the speed of sound in the entire shock wave prior to station 566 or station 567.

The expansion of the working material between station 561 and station 563 increases the average velocity of the working material flowing through channel 552. In this simplified example, the expansion may be described as a substantially adiabatic expansion. In this embodiment, the compression of the working material between stations 564 and 566 may be described as a substantially adiabatic compression. In other embodiments, compression may include heat transfer from or to the working material. In other embodiments, such compression may be performed at least in part by an axial compressor, such as that found in conventional jet engines. In other embodiments, such compression may be performed at least in part, for example, by a centrifugal compressor. To reduce the wave drag associated with the rotor blades of the compressor, the axial or centrifugal compressor is preferably located in a portion of the subsonic fluid flow passing through the passage 552, for example between the second throat and the station 566 or between the second throat and the station 567.

The third constriction 558 of the channel 552 is configured to expand and accelerate the working material flowing through the channel 552 in the positive Y-direction. The average velocity of the working material at the third throat relative to the embodiment 550 is approximately equal to the speed of sound within the working material at that location. In this embodiment, upstream, e.g., at station 567, the average relative velocity is less than the speed of sound, and downstream, e.g., at station 569, the average relative velocity is greater than the speed of sound within the working material. In this embodiment, the expansion of the working material between stations 567 and 569 may be described as a substantially adiabatic expansion. In other embodiments, the expansion may include heat transfer from or to the working material. In other embodiments, such expansion may be performed at least in part by an axial turbine such as that found in conventional jet engines, e.g., turbojet, turbofan, or turboshaft engines. In other embodiments, such expansion may be performed, at least in part, by a centrifugal turbine, for example. To reduce the wave drag associated with the rotor blades of the turbine, the axial or centrifugal turbine is preferably located in a portion of the subsonic fluid flow passing through the passage 552, such as between the station 567 and the third throat. In some such embodiments, the working material downstream of the embodiments may move relative to the embodiments at a speed slower than the speed of sound in the working material. In other words, for embodiments in which an axial or centrifugal turbine or equivalent device is located between the station 567 and the third throat, the third expansion 559 of the channel 552 is not required, so that the third throat is also the second opening 560, and so that the average flow velocity downstream of the second opening is subsonic with respect to the device 550. Indeed, a portion of the thermal energy contained within the working material at station 567 may be converted into useful mechanical shaft work by a conventional axial or centrifugal turbine, resulting in a smaller average flow velocity downstream of the equivalent second opening. In this manner, the kinetic energy of the working material at station 569 or the thermal energy and pressure of the working material at station 567 may be converted to shaft work by expanding and/or decelerating the working material in a turbine, such as an axial turbine, a wind turbine, an open rotor propeller, or a tubular rotor propeller. For example, the turbine may be configured and operated in a similar manner to a power or free turbine in a turboprop or turboshaft engine. For example, the drive shaft of an axial flow turbine may be used to power a generator configured to convert at least a portion of the shaft work into electrical energy. In another example, the drive shaft of the axial turbine may be mechanically coupled to a fan of a turbofan engine or a propeller of a turboprop engine. In some embodiments, the mechanical coupling may include a gear train, such as a planetary gear. The details of such configurations and their application are well known in the field of conventional aircraft turbines or power turbines. Thus, in some embodiments, the engine 550 and any associated power turbine may be attached to a vehicle, such as an aircraft, a land vehicle such as a car, truck, or train, or a vessel such as a boat. In some embodiments, the engine 550 and any associated power turbine may be rigidly mounted to the ground and operated in a similar manner as a conventional wind turbine. For example, mechanical shaft work generated by any power turbine located downstream of station 567 may be converted to electrical energy by a generator. In such embodiments, the engine 550 may be considered an artificial wind source. As discussed, the energy required for the change in pressure or change in velocity of the working material is provided by the thermal energy of the working material, e.g., air.

The engine 550 may be started by causing a bulk flow of working material through the passage 552. The bulk flow may be generated by a propeller. For example, the pusher may be powered by a motor, and the pusher may be configured to pull or push the working material through the channel 552. The bulk flow may also be generated from a source of compressed working material. For example, a valve to a canister of compressed working material may be opened and working material may be released into the channel 552, causing a bulk flow of working material through the channel 552.

Dashed lines 578 and 579 represent stagnation streamlines incident on the leading edge of embodiment 550 or originating from the trailing edge. Thus, flow lines 578 and 579 are portions of a flow surface or flow tube that separates the working material flowing around the embodiment 550 from the working material flowing through the channel 552 of the embodiment 550. In this embodiment, the flow tube is circular when viewed along the Y direction.

A volumetric force generation device or "BFGA" 570 per unit mass is located near the channel 552. The BFGA 570 is configured to be capable of applying at least one volumetric force per unit mass to an object, such as an atom or molecule, of the working material. In this embodiment, the magnitude of the volume force may be adjusted. BFGA 570 includes a first charge aggregate 571 and a second charge aggregate 575. In the configuration shown, the first charge assembly 571 is positively charged and the second charge assembly 575 is negatively charged. In other embodiments, the polarity of the charges in the charge aggregates may be reversed, i.e. the first charge aggregate is negatively charged and the second charge aggregate is positively charged.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 17, the amount of charges in the charge aggregate can be adjusted by charging or discharging or reducing the charges in the charge aggregate. In such embodiments, the charge aggregate may include a conductor that is capable of promoting accumulation of charge or reduction in the amount of charge contained within the conductor. In some such embodiments, in some cases, the amount of charge in the charge aggregate may be configured to be zero over time. The charging process may include applying a voltage difference across the first charge aggregate 571 and the second charge aggregate 575. The voltage difference may be provided by a battery or a capacitor, for example. The first charge aggregate 571 and the second charge aggregate 575 are electrically isolated from each other and from portions of the bulk material 551. Electrical conductors, such as insulated copper wires, connect the first charge aggregate 571 to a voltage source and the second charge aggregate 575 to the voltage source. These electrical conductors are not shown. Between the first charge aggregate 571 and the channel 552 and between the second charge aggregate 575 and the channel 552, the bulk material 551 is an electrical insulator. In practice, first charge aggregate 571 and second charge aggregate 575 can be considered to be the relatively conductive plates of a capacitor, where the dielectric between these plates comprises the working material and the relevant portion of bulk material 551 between first charge aggregate 571 and second charge aggregate 575. In the illustrated embodiment, the first charge aggregate 571 and the second charge aggregate 575 are configured as follows: when the first charge assembly 571 and the second charge assembly 575 are oppositely charged, a majority of the electric field lines pass through the working material in the channel 552. To this end, the first charge aggregate 571 and the second charge aggregate 575 may include several insulated conductors. These conductors may be, for example, wires, and may be arranged parallel to the Y axis within the first charge aggregate 571. This can be used to prevent or reduce any undesired redistribution of charge within the first charge assembly 571 and the second charge assembly 575.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, and as explained below, the role of the BFGA 570 during nominal operation is an increase in the specific heat capacity of the working material in the channel 552 near the BFGA 570 at a constant pressure. In the embodiment and the operation method shown in fig. 17, for the sake of simplicity, the pressure of the working material is constant during the increase or decrease of the specific heat capacity of the working material at a constant pressure. An increase in specific heat capacity at constant pressure corresponds to a decrease in temperature and an increase in density of the working material. In FIG. 17, this increase in specific heat capacity at constant pressure occurs between station 563 and station 564. In this embodiment, the specific heat capacity at constant pressure is substantially constant between station 564 and station 566. Between station 566 and station 567, the specific heat capacity at constant pressure is reduced to the original value at station 563 or station 561. For the embodiment shown in fig. 17, the increase in the specific heat capacity of the working material may be considered to be an electronegative heating effect.

Indeed, the transition from station 563 to station 564 may be described as an isobaric compression or isobaric reduction in volume. In other embodiments or other boundary conditions or other methods of operation, the pressure need not be constant throughout the change in specific heat capacity. For example, the pressure may be increased or decreased during an increase or decrease in specific heat capacity at a constant pressure. For example, work may be done on the working material by compression or expansion devices such as contraction or expansion of the pipe or passage 552 or axial turbines or compressors, or heat or mass may be added or removed from the working material. In the simplified embodiment shown in fig. 17, no heat or mass is exchanged between the working material within the channel 552 of the embodiment 550 and the rest of the embodiment 550. In another example, the increase or decrease in specific heat capacity may occur at a constant volume during the isochoric process. In another example, the increase or decrease in specific heat capacity may occur in a polytropic process.

The magnitude of the average potential energy of the objects within the working material may be adjusted by the BFGA. According to some embodiments of the present invention, the activation level of the BFGA controls the strength of the volumetric force per unit mass, which in turn adjusts the average potential energy of objects within the working material, which may be used to control the specific heat capacity of the working material.

Note that under the isobaric scenario shown in fig. 17, work is done on the working material throughout the activation of the BFGA and the density increases while the temperature decreases adiabatically, i.e., without heat exchange with a heat store other than the working material.

Note that for simplicity, in the embodiment shown in fig. 17, it is assumed that the change in the activation level of the BFGA does not consume work. In some embodiments, the activation of the BFGA may consume work. In some such embodiments, at least a portion of this work may be recovered, where recovery may occur during inactivation of the BFGA or during conversion of thermal energy to useful energy, such as mechanical or electrical work.

Figure 17 also shows a plot of the approximate value of the physical parameter of the working material within channel 552 as a function of position along the Y-direction.

A horizontal axis 587 parallel to the Y axis represents a position along the Y direction at which the corresponding physical parameter is measured. The vertical axis 588 parallel to the X-axis shows the value of the physical parameter. Note that the scale of the vertical axis 588 is different for different physical parameters, i.e., different lines shown in the graph. In free flow, the working material is approximately at standard pressure and temperature, at a natural specific heat capacity at constant pressure, and at a free flow rate.

Line 589 shows the magnitude of the working material versus the average velocity of embodiment 550 as a function of position in the Y direction. Line 590 shows the value of the magnitude of the working material at station 561 relative to the average velocity of embodiment 550 for reference. Note that the magnitude of the average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 550 at station 569 is greater than the magnitude of the average velocity of the working material relative to embodiment 550 at station 561.

Line 591 shows the change in specific heat capacity of the working material at constant pressure as a function of position along the Y-direction. Line 592 shows the value of specific heat capacity at station 561 at a constant pressure for reference.

Line 593 shows the temperature of the working material as a function of position in the Y direction. Line 594 shows the value of the temperature at station 561 for reference. Note that the temperature at station 569 is lower than the temperature at station 561. Thus, embodiments 550 may be considered to cool the working material flowing through channel 552 or to refrigerate the working material flowing through channel 552.

Line 595 shows the static pressure of the working material as a function of position in the Y direction. Line 596 shows the value of the static pressure at station 561 for reference.

Some embodiments of the present invention produce a net mechanical work output. In the illustrated embodiment, mechanical work is used to accelerate the work material as shown by the greater average relative velocity 589 of the work material at station 569 as compared to station 561. The associated thrust may be used to counteract at least a portion of the drag forces acting on embodiment 550 and any devices connected thereto, such as the remainder of an aircraft, due to movement through the working material. In such applications, the embodiment 550 may be operated in a manner similar to a conventional ramjet engine.

Mechanical work can also be converted to electrical energy in a variety of ways.

Fig. 6, 15, 16 and 17 show different embodiments configured to operate at different freestream flow rates. In some embodiments, individual embodiments may be configured to operate at different freestream flow rates. To this end, the configuration of the channels of the individual embodiments may be modified or deformed in order to adapt the shape of the channels to different free stream flow rates. Various deformation methods may be employed to facilitate this.

Where the cross-sectional geometry of the channel is circular, a variable geometry nozzle may be employed to modify the cross-sectional area of the channel at the first, second or third throat and at the first or second opening. Such variable geometry nozzles are found at the exhaust of conventional high performance jet engines. Nozzles of similar construction may be installed at the first opening, the first constriction and the second opening of a single embodiment of the present invention.

In other embodiments where the cross-sectional geometry of the channel is circular or annular, translating spikes may be employed to modify the cross-sectional area of the channel at the first, second, or third throats. In such embodiments, conventional variable geometry nozzles may be used to modify the cross-sectional area of the first and second openings.

Where the cross-sectional geometry of the channel is square or rectangular, a ramp may be employed to modify the cross-sectional area of the channel along the length of the channel.

For example, the ramp, translating spike, or nozzle may be actuated by a hydraulic and/or electric actuator.

As shown in the following example, the configuration of the individual embodiments may be modified according to the magnitude of the freestream flow rate. Fig. 17 may correspond to a configuration for a single embodiment at Mach numbers (Mach numbers) below about Mach 0.5. Figure 16 may correspond to a configuration below mach 1. Fig. 15 may correspond to a configuration below about mach 1.5. Figure 6 may correspond to a configuration above mach 1.5. Other suitable modes of operation may be established for other types of working materials or other types of implementations.

FIG. 18 shows a graph of normalized pressure 611 versus specific volume 610 for a subset of embodiments of the present invention for an exemplary method of operation. The pressure is normalized by the value of the pressure at station 612. For example, fig. 18 may describe an example method of operation of an embodiment similar to embodiment 550 shown in fig. 17. Thus, embodiment 550 will be used to describe the method of operation shown in fig. 18 and vice versa.

In free flow, the thermodynamic properties of the working material are described by station 612. Station 613 describes the properties of the working material after adiabatic expansion 618 of the working material. For example, adiabatic expansion may occur in an axial or centrifugal turbine. Expansion may also occur in a converging-diverging conduit such as first constriction 554 and first expansion 555 of passageway 552.

In this embodiment, the specific heat capacity of the working material at constant pressure increases as the body of working material is subjected to the electric field of the BFGA of sufficient strength. As a result of the increase in specific heat capacity at constant pressure, the temperature and specific volume of the working material decrease. For this method of operation, the pressure remains constant throughout the process in embodiment 550 due to the geometry of channel 552. Thus, the transition from station 613 to station 614 is isobaric compression 619. As mentioned, the transition from station 614 to station 615 is adiabatic compression 620. For example, the compression may be performed by a centrifugal or axial compressor. Compression may also be performed by a converging-diverging conduit, such as second constriction 556 and second expansion 557 of channel 552. Note that the specific heat capacity at constant pressure remains substantially constant throughout the adiabatic compression or expansion process shown in fig. 18. When objects of working material move from station 615 to station 616, they are no longer subjected to a sufficiently large electric field strength. Thus, throughout the isobaric expansion 621 from station 615 to station 616, the specific heat capacity of the working material at constant pressure decreases. The specific heat capacity at constant pressure at station 616 is substantially equal to the specific heat capacity at constant pressure at station 612. In other embodiments, the transition from station 615 to station 616 or from station 613 to station 614 need not be isobaric. For example, in some embodiments, the transitions may be isochoric or polytropic. The transition from station 616 to station 617 is adiabatic expansion 622, which may be performed, for example, in a conventional axial or centrifugal compressor. Expansion may also occur in a third constriction 558 of a converging conduit such as channel 552. Expansion may also occur in a third constriction 498 and a third expansion 499 of a converging-diverging conduit, such as the passageway 492. Station 617 describes properties of the working material downstream of the second opening of the channel. In some embodiments, the working material at station 617 is returned to station 612 substantially isobaric 623. When the thermodynamic cycle is run in reverse, with the initial station similar to station 617, the subsequent station similar to station 616, and the penultimate station similar to station 612, embodiments of the present invention may be used to convert mechanical work into heat.

Note that the values along the axis of fig. 18 are arbitrary and are not intended to limit the invention to a particular working material or method of operation. Other thermodynamic cycles employing artificial and intentional modifications of specific heat capacity at constant volume or pressure are within the scope of the invention.

In general, the principles and methods described herein may also be applied to other types of boundary conditions or other types of thermodynamic compression or expansion devices. For example, the velocity of the working material upstream of an embodiment of the invention may be slower than the speed of sound in the working material at that location in some embodiments. The aforementioned adiabatic expansion or compression process may also be performed by an axial or centrifugal turbine or compressor or by a reciprocating piston engine. As mentioned, these compressions or expansions need not be adiabatic in some embodiments. For example, the compression or expansion may be isothermal or otherwise variable.

In other embodiments or for other methods of operation or for other activation levels of the BFGA, the working material may be configured in the following manner: the specific heat capacity at constant pressure and at constant volume is reduced relative to the activation of the BFGA of the working material. In these embodiments, activation of the BFGA may be considered to freeze or reduce the DE of at least one EDOF, resulting in a reduction in heat capacity. In such embodiments, the BFGA may be activated after compression of the working material and before and during expansion of the working material, and deactivated after said expansion. For example, the aforementioned expansion and compression may be adiabatic. In general, some embodiments of the invention are configured in the following manner: the specific heat capacity during compression of the working material is greater than the specific heat capacity during expansion of the working material. For example, for an embodiment similar to that shown in fig. 6, such a BFGA may be located between the second constriction 66 and the second expansion 67 of the channel 62, or such a BFGA may be positioned to coincide with the second constriction 66 and the second expansion 67 of the channel 62, as shown in fig. 6, rather than such a BFGA being located between the first constriction 64 and the first expansion 65 of the channel 62 or being positioned to coincide with the first constriction 64 and the first expansion 65 of the channel 62. Recall that the working material is expanded in both the entire second constriction 66 and the entire second expansion 67 of the channel 62.

Embodiments of the present invention may be used to pre-cool a working material prior to entering a conventional turbomachine, such as a turbojet, a turbofan, or a conventional internal combustion engine having a reciprocating piston. This may reduce peak temperatures or increase the efficiency of such internal combustion engines.

Aspects of the invention

The present invention is also defined by the following aspects.

Aspect 1. an apparatus for interacting with a working material, wherein the apparatus comprises: a volumetric force generation device configured to artificially modify a specific heat capacity of the working material; and a work exchange device.

The apparatus of aspect 1, wherein the work exchange apparatus comprises a compression apparatus, wherein the compression apparatus is configured to perform work on the working material.

The device of aspect 1, wherein the work exchange device comprises an expansion device, wherein the expansion device is configured to allow the working material to perform work on the expansion device.

The device of aspect 1, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to increase the specific heat capacity of the working material.

Aspect 5 the device of aspect 1, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material.

The apparatus of aspect 1, wherein the working material comprises solid particles or solid objects.

Aspect 7 the device of aspect 1, wherein the working material comprises a fluid, such as a liquid, gas, or gel.

The apparatus of aspect 1, wherein the working material comprises electrons.

Aspect 9 the device of aspect 8, wherein the specific heat capacity of the electrons is modified by the volumetric force generating device.

Aspect 10 the device of aspect 1, wherein the volumetric force of the volumetric force generating device is electromagnetic in nature.

Aspect 11 the device of aspect 1, wherein the volumetric force of the volumetric force generating device is gravitational in nature.

The device of aspect 1, wherein the volumetric force of the volumetric force generating device is inertial in nature.

Aspect 13 the device of aspect 10, wherein the volumetric force of the volumetric force generating device is electrical in nature.

Aspect 14 the device of aspect 10, wherein the volumetric force of the volumetric force generating device is magnetic in nature.

Aspect 15 the apparatus of aspect 10, wherein the volumetric force generating means comprises a magnetic field generating means.

Aspect 16 the apparatus of aspect 15, wherein at least a portion of the magnetic field is generated by a current flowing through a conductor.

The apparatus of aspect 17. the apparatus of aspect 16, wherein at least a portion of the conductor is superconducting.

The apparatus of aspect 16, wherein at least a portion of the conductor is disposed around or within at least a portion of the working material in a solenoid manner.

Aspect 19 the apparatus of aspect 15, wherein at least a portion of the magnetic field is generated by a permanent magnet.

Aspect 20 the apparatus of aspect 10, wherein the volumetric force generating means comprises electric field generating means.

Aspect 21 the apparatus of aspect 20, wherein the electric field generating means comprises an electrical conductor configured to accumulate positive or negative charge.

Aspect 22 the apparatus of aspect 20, wherein the electric field generating means comprises a positive or negative charge aggregate.

The apparatus of aspect 10, wherein the volumetric force generation apparatus comprises an ionization apparatus configured to ionize at least a portion of the working material.

Aspect 24. the apparatus of aspect 23, wherein at least a portion of the energy consumed during ionization can be recovered.

Aspect 25 the device of aspect 24, wherein at least a portion of the energy is recovered by a work exchange device configured to allow the working material to perform work on the work exchange device.

Aspect 26 the apparatus of aspect 25, wherein the work exchange apparatus comprises a generator.

Aspect 27 the device of aspect 25, wherein the work exchange device comprises an axial flow or centrifugal turbine.

Aspect 28. the apparatus of aspect 25, wherein the work exchange apparatus comprises a reciprocating piston.

Aspect 29 the apparatus of aspect 24, wherein at least a portion of the energy is recovered by a thermoelectric energy conversion device.

Aspect 30 the apparatus of aspect 24, wherein at least a portion of the energy is recovered via a photoelectric effect.

The apparatus of aspect 24, wherein at least a portion of the energy is recovered by an energy conversion device configured to convert thermal energy into useful energy.

Aspect 32 the apparatus of aspect 31, wherein the useful energy is in the form of electrical energy.

Aspect 33 the apparatus of aspect 31, wherein the useful energy is in the form of mechanical energy.

Aspect 34 the apparatus of aspect 23, wherein the ionization device is configured to ionize the working material via dielectric barrier discharge.

The apparatus of aspect 23, wherein the ionizing device is configured to ionize the working material via electromagnetic radiation.

Aspect 36 the apparatus of aspect 35, wherein the electromagnetic radiation is generated by a laser.

Aspect 37 the apparatus of aspect 35, wherein the electromagnetic radiation is generated by an antenna.

The apparatus of aspect 23, wherein the ionization device is configured to ionize the working material via a sufficiently strong spatial or temporal gradient in an electric field within at least a portion of the working material.

Aspect 39. the apparatus of aspect 38, wherein the spatial gradient in the electric field is provided by an electrically charged electrical conductor having a small protrusion into the working material.

Aspect 40 the apparatus of aspect 38, wherein at least a portion of the working material is ionized via field desorption ionization.

Aspect 41 the device of aspect 23, wherein the ionized portion of the working material comprises a non-thermal plasma.

Aspect 42 the apparatus of aspect 23, wherein the ionized portion of the working material can comprise a net charge.

Aspect 43 the apparatus of aspect 23, wherein the ionized portion of the working material is a solid material.

The device of aspect 12, wherein the volumetric force of the volumetric force generating device is configured to induce inertial volumetric forces within the working material by accelerating the working material.

The device of aspect 44, wherein the volumetric force of the volumetric force generating device is configured to induce an inertial volumetric force within the working material by rotating the working material about an axis.

The apparatus of aspect 44, wherein the acceleration comprises an acceleration associated with translation of the working material.

The apparatus of aspect 44, wherein the acceleration includes an acceleration associated with rotation of the working material.

Aspect 48 the device of aspect 10, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to electrically polarize at least a portion of the working material.

Aspect 49 the apparatus of aspect 10, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to induce a magnetic dipole on at least a portion of an object within the working material.

Aspect 50 the apparatus of aspect 1, wherein the specific heat capacity of the object within the working material is modified.

Aspect 51. the apparatus of aspect 1, wherein the specific heat capacity of a set of objects within the working material is modified.

Aspect 52. the device of aspect 1, wherein the specific heat capacity of the working material is modified.

Aspect 53 the device of aspect 10, wherein the specific heat capacity of the working material is modified by a positive or negative magnetocaloric effect.

Aspect 54. the device of aspect 10, wherein the specific heat capacity of the working material is modified by a positive or negative electro-thermal effect.

Aspect 55. the device of aspect 2, wherein the compression device comprises an axial or centrifugal compressor.

Aspect 56. the device of aspect 2, wherein the compression device comprises a reciprocating piston.

Aspect 57 the device of aspect 2, wherein the compression device comprises a volumetric force generating device.

Aspect 58 the apparatus of aspect 57, wherein the volumetric force generating means comprises an electric field generating means.

Aspect 59 the device of aspect 57, wherein the volumetric force generating device comprises a magnetic field generating device.

Aspect 60 the apparatus of aspect 57, wherein the volumetric force generating device comprises a gravitational field generating device.

Aspect 61 the device of aspect 57, wherein the volumetric force generating device comprises an inertial volumetric force generating device.

Aspect 62. the device of aspect 2, wherein the compression device comprises a conduit through which the fluid working material is configured to flow.

Aspect 63 the apparatus of aspect 62, wherein the conduit is a converging diverging conduit.

Aspect 64. the apparatus of aspect 62, wherein the conduit is a diverging conduit.

Aspect 65 the device of aspect 62, wherein the conduit is a converging conduit

Aspect 66. the apparatus of aspect 62, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is circular in shape.

Aspect 67 the apparatus of aspect 62, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is annular in shape.

Aspect 68 the apparatus of aspect 62, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is elliptical in shape.

Aspect 69 the apparatus of aspect 62, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is rectangular in shape.

Aspect 70. the device of aspect 3, wherein the expansion device comprises an axial flow or centrifugal turbine.

Aspect 71. the device of aspect 3, wherein the expansion device comprises a reciprocating piston.

Aspect 72 the device of aspect 3, wherein the expansion device comprises a volumetric force generating device.

Aspect 73. the device of aspect 72, wherein the volumetric force generation device comprises an electric field generation device.

Aspect 74 the apparatus of aspect 72, wherein the volumetric force generation device comprises a magnetic field generation device.

Aspect 75 the apparatus of aspect 72, wherein the volumetric force generating device comprises a gravitational field generating device.

The apparatus of aspect 72, wherein the volumetric force generating device comprises an inertial volumetric force generating device.

Aspect 77 the device of aspect 3, wherein the expansion device comprises a conduit through which the fluid working material is configured to flow.

Aspect 78 the apparatus of aspect 77, wherein the conduit is a converging diverging conduit.

Aspect 79 the apparatus of aspect 77, wherein the conduit is a diverging conduit.

Aspect 80 the apparatus of aspect 77, wherein the conduit is a converging conduit.

Aspect 81. the device of aspect 77, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is circular in shape.

Aspect 82 the apparatus of aspect 77, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is annular in shape.

The apparatus of aspect 83. the apparatus of aspect 77, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is elliptical in shape.

Aspect 84. the apparatus of aspect 77, wherein a cross-sectional area of the conduit, viewed in a direction of flow of the working material through the conduit, is rectangular in shape.

Aspect 85 the apparatus of aspect 1, wherein the work exchange apparatus comprises: a compression device, wherein the compression device is configured to perform work on the working material; and an expansion device, wherein the expansion device is configured to allow the working material to work on the expansion device.

The device of aspect 85, wherein the device is configured to compress the working material prior to expanding the working material.

The device of aspect 85, wherein the device is configured to expand the working material prior to compressing the working material.

Aspect 88. the device of aspect 85, wherein the expansion device and the compression device are the same device.

The apparatus of aspect 85, wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the working material and another heat store.

Aspect 90. the device of aspect 86, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression, wherein the artificial increase is above a corresponding natural specific heat capacity.

The device of aspect 86, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion, wherein the artificial reduction is below a corresponding natural specific heat capacity.

The device of aspect 86, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression.

The device of aspect 86, wherein the volumetric force generation device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion.

The device of aspect 87, aspect 94, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression, wherein the artificial increase is above a corresponding natural specific heat capacity.

Aspect 95 the device of aspect 87, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion, wherein the artificial reduction is below a corresponding natural specific heat capacity.

The device of aspect 87, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression.

Aspect 97 the device of aspect 87, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion.

Aspect 98. the apparatus of aspect 1, wherein the working material is air.

Aspect 99 the device of aspect 1, wherein the working material is water.

Aspect 100 the device of aspect 1, wherein the working material is mobile charge carriers.

Aspect 101 the apparatus of aspect 100, wherein the working material is electrons.

Aspect 102 the apparatus of aspect 100, wherein the working material is an ion.

Aspect 103 the apparatus of aspect 100, wherein the working material is protons.

Aspect 104 the device of aspect 85, wherein the expansion device comprises a first expander and a second expander.

Aspect 105 the apparatus of aspect 85, wherein the compression apparatus comprises a first compressor and a second compressor.

Aspect 106 the apparatus of aspect 104, wherein the compression apparatus comprises a single compressor.

Aspect 107 the apparatus of aspect 105, wherein the expansion device comprises a single expander.

The apparatus of aspect 85, wherein the expansion device comprises a single expander.

Aspect 109 the apparatus of aspect 85, wherein the compression apparatus comprises a single compressor.

The apparatus of aspect 106, wherein the apparatus is configured to expand the working material in the first expander prior to compressing the working material in the compressor, and to compress the working material in the compressor prior to expanding the working material in the second expander.

Aspect 111. the apparatus of aspect 110, wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the working material and another heat store.

Aspect 112 the device of aspect 110, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression, wherein the artificial increase is above a corresponding natural specific heat capacity.

Aspect 113 the device of aspect 110, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion, wherein the artificial reduction is below a corresponding natural specific heat capacity.

Aspect 114. the device of aspect 110, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression.

Aspect 115 the device of aspect 110, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion.

The apparatus of aspect 107, wherein the apparatus is configured to compress the working material in the first compressor before expanding the working material in the expander, and to expand the working material in the expander before compressing the working material in the second compressor.

Aspect 117 the apparatus of aspect 116, wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the working material and another heat store.

Aspect 118. the device of aspect 116, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression, wherein the artificial increase is above a corresponding natural specific heat capacity.

Aspect 119 the device of aspect 116, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion, wherein the artificial reduction is below a corresponding natural specific heat capacity.

Aspect 120 the device of aspect 116, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially reduce the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the compression.

Aspect 121 the device of aspect 116, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially increase the specific heat capacity of the working material for at least a portion of the expansion.

The apparatus of aspect 122. the apparatus of aspect 85, wherein the expansion device comprises a single expander and the compression device comprises a single compressor, wherein the working material interacts with the compressor and the expander sequentially in time.

Aspect 123. a system comprising two or more of the devices of aspect 122, wherein the devices are configured to interact with the working material sequentially in time.

Aspect 124. a system comprising two or more of the devices of aspect 86, wherein the devices are configured to interact with the working material sequentially in time.

Aspect 125. a system comprising two or more of the devices of aspect 87, wherein the devices are configured to interact with the working material sequentially in time.

Aspect 126. a system comprising two or more of the devices of aspect 86, wherein the devices are configured to interact with the working material sequentially in time.

Aspect 127. a system comprising one or more of the devices of aspect 86 and one of the devices of aspect 110, wherein one or more of the devices of aspect 86 are configured to interact with the working material sequentially in time, and wherein one or more of the devices of aspect 86 are configured to interact with the working material after interaction of the working material with the first expander of the device of aspect 110 and before interaction of the working material with the compressor of the device of aspect 110.

Aspect 128. a system comprising one or more of the devices of aspect 87 and one of the devices of aspect 116, wherein one or more of the devices of aspect 87 are configured to interact with the working material sequentially in time, and wherein one or more of the devices of aspect 87 are configured to interact with the working material after interaction of the working material with the first compressor of the device of aspect 116 and before interaction of the working material with the expander of the device of aspect 116.

The apparatus of aspect 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between the working material and another heat store.

Aspect 130. the apparatus of aspect 1, wherein heat is exchangeable between the working material and another heat store.

Aspect 131 the apparatus of aspect 130, wherein the further heat store further comprises a material of the same type as the working material.

The device of aspect 86, wherein heat is removable from the working material and transferred to another thermal store, wherein the heat is removable after compression of the working material and before expansion of the working material.

The device of aspect 86, wherein heat can be delivered to the working material from another heat store, wherein the heat can be delivered after compression of the working material and before expansion of the working material.

Aspect 134 the device of aspect 87, wherein heat is removable from the working material and transferred to another thermal store, wherein the heat is removable after expansion of the working material and before compression of the working material.

Aspect 135 the device of aspect 87, wherein heat is deliverable to the working material from another heat store, wherein the heat is deliverable after expansion of the working material and before compression of the working material.

Aspect 136 the device of aspect 132, wherein heat can also be delivered to the working material from another thermal store, wherein the heat can be delivered after expansion of the working material.

The device of aspect 132, wherein heat can also be delivered to the working material from another thermal store, wherein the heat can be delivered prior to compression of the working material.

Aspect 138 the apparatus of aspect 133, wherein heat is also removable from the working material and transferred to another thermal store, wherein the heat is removable after expansion of the working material.

Aspect 139 the apparatus of aspect 133, wherein heat is removable from another heat store to the working material, wherein the heat is removable prior to compression of the working material.

Aspect 140 the device of aspect 134, wherein heat is also deliverable to the working material from another thermal store, wherein the heat is deliverable after compression of the working material.

Aspect 141 the device of aspect 134, wherein heat can also be delivered to the working material from another heat store, wherein the heat can be delivered prior to expansion of the working material.

Aspect 142 the apparatus of aspect 135, wherein heat is also removable from the working material and transferred to another thermal store, wherein the heat is removable after compression of the working material.

Aspect 143 the apparatus of aspect 135, wherein heat is removable from another heat store to the working material, wherein the heat is removable prior to expansion of the working material.

Aspect 144 the apparatus of aspect 130, wherein heat is exchangeable via thermal conduction.

Aspect 145 the apparatus of aspect 130, wherein heat can be exchanged via natural or forced convection.

Aspect 146 the apparatus of aspect 130, wherein heat is exchangeable via thermal radiation.

Aspect 147 the device of aspect 130, wherein heat is exchangeable via a heat transfer device.

Aspect 148 the apparatus of aspect 130, wherein heat is exchangeable via a temperature amplification device.

Aspect 149. the device of aspect 1, wherein the work exchange device is configured to adiabatically compress or expand the working material.

Aspect 150 the device of aspect 1, wherein the work exchange device is configured to isothermally compress or expand the working material.

Aspect 151. the device of aspect 1, wherein the work exchange device is configured to variably compress or expand the working material.

Aspect 152. the device of aspect 1, wherein the work exchange device is configured to isobarically compress or expand the working material.

Aspect 153 the device of aspect 1, wherein the work exchange device is configured to isochorically compress or expand the working material.

Aspect 154. the device of aspect 85, wherein, for a given incremental change in the specific volume of the working material, the specific heat capacity during at least a portion of the expansion of the working material is less than the specific heat capacity during at least a portion of the compression of the working material.

The device of aspect 85, wherein, for a given incremental change in the specific volume of the working material, the specific heat capacity during at least a portion of the expansion of the working material is greater than the specific heat capacity during at least a portion of the compression of the working material.

Aspect 156 the apparatus of aspect 154, wherein the apparatus comprises at least one heat exchange device.

The device of aspect 156, wherein the heat exchange device is configured to remove heat from the working material after or during compression of the working material.

Aspect 158 the device of aspect 157, wherein the heat exchange device is configured to deliver heat to the working material after or during expansion of the working material.

Aspect 159 the device of aspect 157, wherein the amount of heat removed from the working material can be substantially equal to the amount of heat delivered to the working material by the heat exchange device after or during expansion of the working material.

Aspect 160 the device of aspect 1, wherein the specific heat capacity is the specific heat capacity at constant pressure.

Aspect 161. the device of aspect 1, wherein the specific heat capacity is the specific heat capacity at a constant volume.

Aspect 162. the device of aspect 1, wherein the thermal energy of the working material is converted into work via a work exchange device.

The device of aspect 1, wherein the work of the work exchange device is converted to thermal energy of the working material.

The device of aspect 1, wherein the device comprises at least one heat exchange device configured to allow thermal energy to be transferred from a first thermal store to a second thermal store via the working material.

The apparatus of aspect 165. the apparatus of aspect 164, wherein the first thermal store is at a lower temperature than the second thermal store.

The apparatus of aspect 164, wherein the first thermal store is at a higher temperature than the second thermal store.

Aspect 167 the device of aspect 164, wherein the heat exchange device can comprise thermal contact between the first or second thermal store and the working material.

Aspect 168. the device of aspect 167, wherein the heat is transferable through the thermal contact via thermal conduction.

Aspect 169 the apparatus of aspect 167, wherein the heat is transferable through the thermal contact via natural or forced convection.

Aspect 170 the device of aspect 167, wherein the heat is transferable through the thermal contact via thermal radiation.

The device of aspect 167, aspect 171, wherein the heat is transferable by the thermal contact via a thermal transfer device.

Aspect 172 the device of aspect 162, wherein the work exchange device is configured to generate thrust.

Aspect 173 the apparatus of aspect 162, wherein the work exchange apparatus is capable of generating electrical power.

Aspect 174 the device of aspect 162, wherein the work exchange device is configured to generate torque.

Aspect 175 the device of aspect 162, wherein the work exchange device is capable of propelling an aircraft or spacecraft.

Aspect 176. the apparatus of aspect 1, wherein the work exchange apparatus is capable of propelling a land vehicle or a marine vessel.

Aspect 177. a method of manipulating a working material, the method comprising: modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material; and interacting with the working material, wherein the interaction can include performing work on the working material or allowing the working material to perform work.

An aspect 178. a method of manipulating a working material, the method comprising: providing one or more of the devices of any of aspects 1-176, operating one or more of the devices of any of aspects 1-176.

Aspect 179. a method of manipulating a working material, the method comprising: providing one or more of the devices of any one of aspects 1-176; modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material; and interacting with the working material using the work exchange device, wherein the interaction can include working the working material using the work exchange device or allowing the working material to work the work exchange device.

Aspect 180. a method of interacting with a working material, the method comprising: artificially modifying the value of the specific heat capacity of the working material with respect to a natural value; and applying work to the working material with a work exchange device, or applying a work exchange device to allow the working material to apply work to the work exchange device.

Aspect 181 the method of aspect 180, wherein the method further comprises providing a volumetric force generating device, wherein the volumetric force generating device is configured to artificially modify the specific heat capacity of the working material.

Aspect 182. the method of aspect 181, wherein the method further comprises employing the volumetric force generating device to artificially modify a specific heat capacity of a working material.

Aspect 183 the method of aspect 180, wherein the method further comprises providing the work exchange device.

Aspect 184 the method of aspect 183, wherein the method further comprises applying work to the working material using the work exchange device.

Aspect 185 the method of aspect 183, wherein the method further comprises employing the work exchange device to allow the working material to perform work on the work exchange device.

Aspect 186 the method of aspect 180, wherein the specific heat capacity is the specific heat capacity at constant pressure.

Aspect 187 the method of aspect 180, wherein the specific heat capacity is the specific heat capacity at a constant volume.

Aspect 188. the method of aspect 180, wherein the method comprises converting thermal energy of the working material into work via the work exchange device.

The method of aspect 180, 189, wherein the method comprises converting work of the work exchange device to thermal energy of the working material.

Aspect 190. the method of aspect 180, wherein the method includes providing at least one heat exchange device configured to allow thermal energy to be transferred from a first thermal store to a second thermal store via the working material.

The method of aspect 190, wherein the first thermal store is at a lower temperature than the second thermal store.

The method of aspect 190, wherein the first thermal store is at a higher temperature than the second thermal store.

Aspect 193 the method of aspect 180, wherein modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises increasing the specific heat capacity of the working material.

Aspect 194 the method of aspect 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises decreasing the specific heat capacity of the working material.

Aspect 195 the method of aspect 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises both increasing the specific heat capacity of the working material and decreasing the specific heat capacity of the working material.

Aspect 196 the method of aspect 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises ionizing at least a portion of the working material.

Aspect 197 the method of aspect 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises subjecting the working material to an electric field.

Aspect 198 the method of aspect 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises subjecting the working material to a spatial or temporal electric field gradient.

Aspect 199 the method of aspect 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises subjecting the working material to a magnetic field.

Aspect 200 the method of aspect 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises subjecting the working material to a spatially or temporally non-uniform magnetic field.

Aspect 201 the method of aspect 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises subjecting the working material to a gravitational field.

Aspect 202 the method of aspect 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises subjecting the working material to acceleration in an inertial system.

Aspect 203 the method of aspect 180, wherein the modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises employing a positive or negative magnetocaloric effect.

Aspect 204 the method of aspect 180, wherein modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises using a positive or negative electrothermal effect.

Aspect 205 the method of aspect 180, wherein performing work on the working material with the work exchange device comprises compressing the working material.

Aspect 206 the method of aspect 180, wherein employing a work exchange device to allow the working material to work the work exchange device comprises expanding the working material.

Aspect 207 the method of aspect 180, wherein modifying the specific heat capacity of the working material comprises changing or altering the specific heat capacity of the working material relative to a value of specific heat capacity in a natural scene.

Aspect 208. the method of aspect 180, wherein the method further comprises maintaining the value of the specific heat capacity at any value different from the natural value of the specific heat capacity during application of work to the working material using a work exchange device or during application of a work exchange device to allow the working material to apply work to the work exchange device.

Aspect 209. the method of aspect 208, wherein the method further comprises maintaining the value of the specific heat capacity at the natural value of the specific heat capacity during application of work to the working material using a work exchange device or during application of a work exchange device to allow the working material to apply work to the work exchange device.

The term "or" is equivalent to "and/or" herein unless specifically stated or clear from the context.

The embodiments and methods described herein are merely illustrative of and explanatory of the principles of the invention. The invention may be carried out in several different ways and is not limited to the examples, embodiments, arrangements, configurations or methods of operation described herein or depicted in the drawings. This also applies to the case where only one embodiment is described or depicted. Those skilled in the art will be able to devise many alternative examples, implementations, arrangements, configurations, or methods of operation that, although not shown or described herein, embody the principles of the invention and are thus within its spirit and scope.