There may be a new technique to control heat with a magnetic field. Researchers have found that a magnetic field roughly the size of a medical MRI can reduce the amount of heat flowing through a semiconductor by 12 percent.
"This adds a new dimension to our understanding of acoustic waves," said Joseph Heremans, one of the researchers, in a news release. "We've shown that we can steer heat magnetically. With a strong enough magnetic field, we should be able to steer sound waves, too."