refrigeration: Quick Facts

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Components of a refrigerator. A compressor pressurizes the refrigerant gas, heating it and forcing it through the system. The gas cools and liquefies in the condenser, giving up its heat to the outside air. The liquid's pressure is lowered when it passes through an expansion valve, and there is an associated further drop in temperature. The cold liquid then passes into the evaporator coils, where heat drawn from the warmer refrigerator compartment causes it to vaporize. The gas is then returned to the compressor to repeat the cycle.

How did people keep food cold before refrigerators?

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John Gorrie's ice machine

John Gorrie

American physician