Vapour-Compression Refrigerator

Heat pump · 1834 · Vapour-compression cycle

Year: 1834
Kind: Heat pump
Materials: Copper tube, aluminium fins, a hermetic compressor, and a refrigerant chosen for its boiling point and its climate impact.
Efficiency: A COP of 3–5: three to five joules moved per joule of electricity.
Used In: Every fridge, freezer and air conditioner; increasingly, heating.
Power Density: Moderate.
Cycle: Vapour-compression

How It Works

A refrigerant boils at low pressure, taking heat from the cold side; a compressor squeezes the vapour, which condenses at high pressure and gives that heat up on the warm side; a valve drops the liquid's pressure and it boils again. Run it to warm the warm side and it is a heat pump — the same machine.

Inventors

Carl von Linde Jacob Perkins

Equations

Second Law of Thermodynamics Coefficient of Performance Carnot Efficiency

Elements

Fluorine Carbon Copper Aluminum

Referenced by

element

Aluminum Carbon Copper Fluorine

equation

Carnot Efficiency Coefficient of Performance Second Law of Thermodynamics

researcher

Carl von Linde Jacob Perkins

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From the Machines database in Notion, last edited 2026-08-16. This page is the row, rendered by the build; nothing on it is written by hand.