What happens?
A refrigerator will keep food cold by converting gas into liquid, then liquid into vapor. Basic physics maintains that when two surfaces come in contact with the other, the surface with the higher temperature will cool to equal the temperature of its alternate. Coils and metal parts inside a refrigerator are loaded with cold liquid. The liquid inside generates cold air outside the coils. This happens when the heat from inside the refrigerator reduces its temperature to "match" temperatures with the cold liquid inside the coils. When you open a refrigerator door, you generally will notice a dramatic change in air temperature. Food inside is kept cold because the refrigerator is able to convert gas into liquid. That liquid passes through a series of parts that can also opt to change that liquid into vapor--this is done by compressing molecules. A refrigerator, without a compressor, will generally be hot inside. Once the coils inside a refrigerator have power, the compressed material, gas and liquid, will suck out all the hot air.
Parts of a Refrigerator
A refrigerator is typically divided into three sections with various parts. It will have a freezer, an expansion valve and a motor or compressor. It will also have an evaporator. The evaporator typically consists of the thin coils you will see inside the freezer section of a refrigerator. The motor in the refrigerator makes liquid and gas move within the parts. The movement causes the fluid to go to the compressor. The compressor essentially "squishes" the liquid until it becomes vapor. The expansion valve will allow gas and liquid to run through an evaporator. The fan inside the evaporator is what causes the cold air to move around inside a refrigerator.
Food Inside a Working Refrigerator
When you buy food, it is at a certain temperature. Imagine you take that food home and place it on your kitchen counter. The molecules in the food will adjust to your kitchen air temperature accordingly. The food is one surface and the kitchen air temperature is another. When you put a piece of food inside a refrigerator, its core temperature is probably higher than inside a working refrigerator compartment. Food at room temperature, will want to stay at room temperature. If the food is, in fact, colder than your kitchen air temperature, it may create water on its surface. This is a residual effect of condensation and the inside of a refrigerator works in a similar fashion. When food is introduced into a colder area, its temperature will adjust to the area inside. The same will happen to the interior of a refrigerator wall. The residual condensation is another way items in a freezer are kept frozen, while food in another compartment remains cold, but not frozen.
Tags: inside refrigerator, kitchen temperature, temperature will, your kitchen, your kitchen temperature
