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Refrigeration
Refrigeration (from the Latin frigus, frost) is generally the cooling of a body by the transfer of a portion of its heat away from it. Applications include conservation, especially of food, and lowering the temperature of drinks to one that is more agreeable for consumption. Refrigerators are common in kitchens, with separate sections or separate machines for cooling and freezing.
It is also possible to use eutectic salts. In some cases, refrigeration by material at ambient temperature is acceptable, for example the fan cooling of computer equipment. Where temperatures below that of any available natural cooling agent are required, refrigerators are used to produce the required cooling effect by taking in heat at low temperatures and rejecting it at temperatures somewhat above that of the natural cooling agent, which for obvious reasons is generally water or air. The function of a refrigerating machine, therefore, is to take in heat at a low temperature and reject it at a higher one, using external energy to drive the process. A refrigerator is effectively a heat pump, a heat engine running in reverse.
Thermodynamics of refrigerators
History of refrigeration
Development of first refrigeratorsThe gas absorption refrigerator[?] which cools by the use of a source of heat was invented in Sweden by Baltzar von Platen in 1922[1] (http://otal.umd.edu/~vg/amst205.F97/vj09/project5.html). It was later manufactured by Electrolux[?] and Servel[?]. Today it is used in homes that are "off the grid" and in recreational vehicles.
Modern developments in refrigeration
Technology
Culture / Commerce
Science
Speculative uses of refrigeration
See alsoExternal links:
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