ABSTRACT

In this chapter the main terms and conceptions about magnetocaloric effect (MCE) are introduced. The models and approaches usually used for description of MCE, such as thermodynamic and statistic approaches, mean field approximation and Landau’s theory of second-order phase transitions, are considered. The main contributions to the MCE and the peculiarities of the MCE near second-and first-order magnetic transitions, in antiferromagnets, nonhomogeneous and superparamagnetic systems, are also regarded. Finally attention is paid to such related properties as heat capacity and elastocaloric effect.