Real Refrigerators

A liquid with suitable characteristics (e.g., Freon-12, CCl 2F2) circulates through
the system. The compressor pushes the liquid through the condenser coil at a
high pressure (~10 atm). The liquid sprays through a throttling valve into the
evaporation coil which is maintained by the compressor at a low pressure (~2
atm).
condenser
P processes
2 at P = const,

liquid
3
 Q=dH
throttling
valve
compressor
4 1
gas
liquid+gas

cold reservoir
evaporator V
(fridge interior)
T=50C

hot reservoir
(fridge exterior)
T=250C

QC H1  H 4 H  H4
COP    1
QH  QC H 2  H 3   H1  H 4  H 2  H1
Although the efficiency of an “ideal” refrigerator does not depend on the
working substance, in practice the choice of working substance is very
important because
Q from the Q to the fridge
environment
cooling volume
“cold reservoir”

At the lowest T, these two flows of thermal energy compensate each

other.

T
H  U  T   PV   C P dT
0

The latent heat L of phase

transformation at P = const:

 H1  H 2  P  L
 L
 dH  dU  PdV  VdP  TdS  VdP dS  
 T
 Cooling of Gases

V1 V2 constant P = P1 - P2 .
P1 P2
T1 T2

W (a) an “expansion engine”

( W  0);
H1  U  T1   P1V1 (b) a porous membrane or a constriction.
( W = 0).

W

H 2  U  T2   P2V2

H1  H 2  U1  P1V1   U 2  P2V2    W

 Magnetic refrigeration
The magnetocaloric effect is a magneto-thermodynamic phenomenon in
which a change in temperature of a suitable material is caused by exposing
the material to a changing magnetic field. This is also known by low
temperature physicists as adiabatic demagnetization, due to the application
of the process specifically to create a temperature drop. In that part of the
overall refrigeration process, a decrease in the strength of an externally
applied magnetic field allows the magnetic domains of a chosen material to
become disoriented from the magnetic field by the agitating action of the
thermal energy (phonons) present in the material. If the material is isolated
so that no energy is allowed to (re)migrate into the material during this time,
i.e., an adiabatic process, the temperature drops as the domains absorb the
thermal energy to perform their reorientation. The randomization of the
domains occurs in a similar fashion to the randomization at the curie
temperature of a ferromagnetic material, except that magnetic dipoles
overcome a decreasing external magnetic field while energy remains
constant, instead of magnetic domains being disrupted from internal
ferromagnetism as energy is added.

Gadolinium alloy heats up inside the

magnetic field and loses thermal energy
to the environment, so it exits the field
cooler than when it entered.
Adiabatic magnetization: A magnetocaloric substance is placed in an insulated
environment. The increasing external magnetic field (+H) causes the magnetic
dipoles of the atoms to align, thereby decreasing the material's magnetic entropy
and heat capacity. Since overall energy is not lost (yet) and therefore total
entropy is not reduced (according to thermodynamic laws), the net result is that
the item heats up (T + ΔTad).
Isomagnetic enthalpic transfer: This added heat can then be removed (-Q) by a
fluid or gas — gaseous or liquid helium, for example. The magnetic field is held
constant to prevent the dipoles from reabsorbing the heat. Once sufficiently
cooled, the magnetocaloric substance and the coolant are separated (H=0).
Adiabatic demagnetization: The substance is returned to another adiabatic
(insulated) condition so the total entropy remains constant. However, this time
the magnetic field is decreased, the thermal energy causes the magnetic
moments to overcome the field, and thus the sample cools, i.e., an adiabatic
temperature change. Energy (and entropy) transfers from thermal entropy to
magnetic entropy (disorder of the magnetic dipoles).
Isomagnetic entropic transfer: The magnetic field is held constant to prevent the
material from heating back up. The material is placed in thermal contact with the
environment being refrigerated. Because the working material is cooler than the
refrigerated environment (by design), heat energy migrates into the working
material (+Q).
 Historical Development of Refrigeration

103
02
10 2 N2
H2
101
Low T

Kamerlingh-
4
He Onnes

100
3
He

elec
Mag onic m
10-1

tr
net
ic r g. mo
Ultra-low T

3
He -4

efri
10-2 a He ,
ger ments

Ma clea
nu
atio

gn r m
10-3

eti ag
n,

cr .m
ef r o m
i ge
10-4

r a t nt s
i on
e
10-5

,
1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

http://www.cryogenicsociety.org/resources/cryo_central/history_of_cryogenics/

Cryogenics is the study of the production of very low temperature (below 123
K) and the behavior of materials at those temperatures. The National Institute
of Standards and Technology at Boulder, Colorado has chosen to consider the
field of cryogenics as that involving temperatures below −180 °C (-292 °F or
93.15 K). This is a logical dividing line, since the normal boiling points of the so-
called permanent gases (such as helium, hydrogen, neon, nitrogen, oxygen,
and normal air) lie below −180 °C while the Freon refrigerants, hydrogen
sulfide, and other common refrigerants have boiling points above −180 °C.