Refrigerator

A device that uses work to transfer heat from a colder region to a warmer environment, keeping an enclosed space cool. Its operation depends on a refrigeration cycle.

Vapor-compression refrigeration: A refrigeration cycle that compresses, condenses, expands, and evaporates a circulating refrigerant. This cycle powers most household refrigerators by moving heat through four linked stages.
Heat pump: A device that uses work to transfer heat from a cooler region to a warmer one. A refrigerator is a heat pump arranged to cool its interior rather than warm a room.
Domestic refrigerator: A household appliance that cools and stores food in an insulated cabinet. It is the familiar application of the refrigeration principle, often combining fresh-food and freezer compartments.
Absorption refrigerator: A refrigerator that uses heat and an absorbent-refrigerant pair instead of a mechanical compressor. It can provide cooling without a conventional compressor, unlike most household models.
Refrigerant: A working fluid that absorbs and releases heat as it circulates through a refrigeration system. Its phase changes carry heat from the refrigerator cabinet to the surrounding room.
Thermodynamics: The study of heat, work, energy, and the physical laws governing their transformations. Its laws set the energy requirements and limits of refrigeration.
Freezer: An insulated appliance or compartment that keeps its contents below the freezing point of water. A refrigerator's freezer section uses the same heat-pumping principle at a lower temperature.
Thermoelectric cooling: A method of moving heat through a material using an electric current and the Peltier effect. It avoids circulating refrigerant but is generally less efficient for household-scale cooling.
Compressor: A machine that raises a gas's pressure by reducing its volume or imparting mechanical energy. It pressurizes refrigerator vapor so the refrigerant can release heat at a higher temperature.
Heat: Energy transferred between systems because of a temperature difference. Refrigeration moves heat; it does not simply destroy or remove energy.

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