Refrigerator
Science brain teasers require understanding of the physical or biological world and the laws that govern it.
On a hot summer day, a man who had no air conditioning decided that he would cool off his home by leaving the door to his refrigerator open. Does he succeed in cooling off his home?
HintDo an energy balance.
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Answer
No. All a refrigerator does is take heat from inside the unit and pump it to the back. So doing an energy balance would lead to the conclusion that no cooling overall takes place. Further investigation would reveal that the home would actually heat up since refrigerators need an electric motor to operate. This would generate additional heat, making the home hotter.
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Comments
od-1   
Jan 12, 2004
| I wounder how many people have accually tried it.  |
XOLPLINKINPARK
Feb 11, 2004
| me 2!! |
Palsha 
Feb 13, 2004
| Haha, I liked this one. I know the old man would have probably been me if I were in his shoes! |
Jake
Apr 20, 2004
| It seems to me that with the door shut, the room is at a certain temperature and the inside of the fridge is at a much cooler temperature. When he first opens the door, the temperature of the room will try to equalize by moving a bunch of heat into the fridge. This will lower the overall temperature of the room at least initially. Then the temperature will rise back up to the normal hot temperature and it will stay that way. So it would be a quick, but not a permanent solution. |
drussel3
Jun 07, 2005
| In reference to Jake's comments, the fridge will overcompensate for eing open, and will work harder. The heat generated by the heat exchanger will raise the temp of the room, actually making the room hotter. |
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