How does my refrigerator work?

How does my refrigerator work?

1. Refrigerators work by causing the refrigerant circulating inside them to change from a liquid into a gas. This process, called evaporation, cools the surrounding area and produces the desired effect. ... When you release the contents into the lower pressure open space, it turns from a liquid to a gas.

2. The refrigerant gas is compressed to a high pressure which results in rise of temperature.

3. This gas then passes through heat exchanging pipes where it loses most of its heat to its surroundings which causes the cooling of the refrigerant.

4. It then passes through a condenser which causes the gas to get converted into a liquid form. This happens because In this condenser the temperature of the refrigerant keeps on reducing but the pressure remains the same.

5. The refrigerant then reaches the expansion valve, where there is a drastic decrease in pressure which causes the refrigerant to expand and evaporate.

6. This further decreases the temperature.

7. The evaporation of the refrigerant takes place in the evaporator, which absorbs the heat from the food and the air in refrigerator which keeps the food cool.

8. The second law of thermodynamics is used here.

9. This law states : When 2 surfaces of different temperatures come in contact with one an the other , the surface with the high temperature cools and that with the lower temperature heats up.

10. This causes the refrigerant to again heat up to form gas. This gas then again enters the compressor and the whole process is repeated again.