A rotary magnetic heat pump comprised of: at least one circular plate comprised of predetermined material,Slurry pumps having a central hole and an axis of rotation through said hole; a substantially toroidal shaped housing having first inlet and outlet ports and having second inlet and outlet ports and with said at least one circular plate being rotatably mounted in said housing; means for inducing a loca1ized strong magnetic field throughout the interior portion of said housing substantially between said first inlet and said second outlet port; means for rotating said,Magnetic pumps at least one circular plate in a predetermined direction in said housing on said axis of rotation of said at least one circular plate; a heat transfer fluid at least in said housing, in thermal contact with said at least one circular plate; thermal load exchange means in combination with a first pumping means, said combination operatively connected to said first inlet port and said first outlet port to permit transfer of said heat transfer fluid through said first outlet port, through said thermal load exchange means and through said first pumping means and return to said housing through said first inlet port; a heat rejection means in combination with a second pumping means, said combination operatively connected to said second inlet and said second outlet port to permit the transfer of said heat transfer fluid through said second outlet port, through said heat rejection means, through said second pumping means, to said housing through said second inlet port; said housing and said at 1east one circular plate being of a size and said ports being prepositioned in said housing whereby said heat transfer fluid flows in said housing through said first inlet port and splits into first and second flow portions such that said first flow portion flows against the direction of rotation of said plates and said second portion flows with the direction of rotation of said plates, fluid flowing into said housing through said second inlet port splits into third and fourth fluid flow portions such that said third fluid flow portion such that said third fluid flow portion flows against the rotation of said plates and said forth fluid flow portion flows with said rotation. This invention relates to magnetic heat pumps. Specifically, the invention is a rotary magnetic heat pump used to pump heat energy from a low temperature source to a high temperature sink. The invention also contemplates use as a refrigerator usable to remove heat from a source and pump it into a sink. The term heat pump will be used to indicate both refrigerators and heat pumps hereinafter. Magnetic heat pumping involves expulsion of heat into a high temperature sink from the magnetic working material through the application of a magnetic field. Subsequent removal of the magnetic field increases entropy of the working material and allows absorption of heat from a low temperature bath. Magnetic refrigerators and heat pumps operate near the ferromagnetic Curie temperatures of working materials and with proper selection of working materials can work at any temperature range from near absolute zero to near 1400 degrees Kelvin. As known in the art, different materials have different Curie temperatures. At temperatures above 20

2012-01-04

Back