Sure, you want to keep that keg of Natural Ice you scored nice and cold, but what did Al Gore say about global warming? indisputable to instructor Qiming Zhang and Penn State University, we can see a more eco-friendly kegerator appliance on the horizon -- obeisant of the growing field of ferroelectric polarpolymers. Instead of relying on gasses similar to Freon, a process which can only be performed with energy-intensive compressors and heating coils, the new kegerators will rely on thing called arresting field refrigeration. In charming field refrigeration, electricity is introduced to a polarpolymer, causing the usually disordered molecules of the polarpolymer to become highly ordered. As this happens, heat is dispersed and the matter grows cold. When the electricity is switched off this process reverses itself. And this doesn't just mean more fun for the college crowd: someday Zhang predicts this mechanics will be used in gross from self-cooling gear for firefighters to chilling your CPU.

[Via The Future Of Things]