HACKER Q&A
📣 daemontus

Do you know how a fridge works?


Without looking it up or reading the discussion, do you have a general idea how refrigeration works?

You don't need to understand any specific technical details. Just the general physics principles that are involved (i.e. why/how is the heat transferred out of the fridge).

Context: I had a discussion where the topic of refrigerators came up, and I considered it to be a widely known principle. But so far, the vast majority of people I asked never learned or questioned how do fridges actually work (however, most people do seem to know there is some sort of motor and some coolant inside). I think HN is definitely a biased source of data, but still I think it would be interesting to see how common this knowledge really is.

Finally: there's no shame in not knowing/caring how refrigeration works. Please don't turn this into "I know this one random fact hence I'm more knowledgeable". Save that for a whiteboard interview :)

  👤 pwg Accepted Answer ✓
> do you have a general idea how refrigeration works

More than a 'general idea'. But you'll find as you've already learned, a huge percentage of people have no idea.

👤 gidorah
No, I do not know how it works. I suppose it is important? Or anymore important to know than other stuff?

Not want wanting to brag or anything, but there is SO MUCH stuff that I have no idea how it works.

👤 bediger4000
Yes, but I took thermodynamics in college.
👤 anenefan
Up until the 80s such principals were touched on in senior school classes of chemistry and physics. While I would assume most people in my locale once having a strong agricultural connection and can do attitude to fix things, have understood gas compression heat exchange, few would have understood the old kero / gas (heat) powered fridges worked precisely.

Present times I would not like to guess how the population around would fare - when I see weather disasters the last few years, many are throwing their fridge out once it's been flooded - rather than take a couple of weeks to clean and wait for it to dry out. Sure they've become very complicated and some brands don't respond very well to being saturated, the guts of the compressor are sealed.

Most of what I learned about fridges I did during a few months as a delivery person working for a white goods company.