Chapter 02 of 5
The Loop Inside the Wall
The four-step cycle that pumps heat out of your food.
- The Fluid
The Refrigerant
A sealed loop of pipes holds a special fluid, the refrigerant. It isn't used up; it just circulates, carrying heat along.
- Cool Property
Boils When Cold
Refrigerants are chosen because, at low pressure, they boil at temperatures far below the freezing point of water.
- Step One
The Evaporator
Inside the fridge, low-pressure liquid refrigerant boils into gas. The boiling soaks up heat from your food and the air around it.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
What happens to the refrigerant gas inside the compressor?
❄️ Your Fridge Doesn't Make Cold
- 01Cold Is Not a ThingWhy a fridge moves heat instead of making cold, and how we got there from frozen lakes.
- 02The Loop Inside the WallThe four-step cycle that pumps heat out of your food.
- 03Poison in the PantryDeadly early refrigerants, the chemist who found a safer one, and the hole in the sky.
- 04The Cold RevolutionHow cheap cold changed meat, fruit, shopping and medicine.
- 05Cooling Without a CompressorDesert ice houses, clay pots and Einstein's silent fridge.