Refrigeration (from the Latin frigus, frost) is the cooling of a body by the transfer of a portion of its heat to another body.
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 engine run in reverse.
- This article is unfinished
Thermodynamics of refrigeration
- to be written
History of refrigeration
- Ice houses
- Making of ice cream
- Refrigeration by well water
- Development of first refrigerators
- Refrigerators in the home
Modern developments in refrigeration
Technology
Culture / Commerce
- Refrigerated transport
- Food hygiene
- Ready meals
- Cook/chill
- Ice cream vans
- Air conditioning
Science
- approaching absolute zero
- Superconductivity
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