Patent ID: 8726653

Claim:
A method of cooling a first region that is above the transition temperature of a phase change material having a cold phase and a warm phase and that is proximal to a second region into which heat may be exhausted, said method comprising: (a) providing an article of said phase change material in said cold phase and held in tension a tensile force; (b) placing said article into thermal contact with said first region, and releasing said article from said tensile force, thereby removing said tension, thereby causing said phase change material to undergo a phase transition, and changing size; (c) when said phase transition is substantially complete, taking said article out of thermal contact with said first region and placing it into thermal contact with said second region; (d) applying tensile force to said article, so as to cause it to transition to said cold phase and be held in tension by said tensile force, thereby exhausting heat into said second region; and (e) after said phase transition of step (d) is substantially complete repeating steps (b)-(d).