How does a fridge stay cold?

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentChip asked me how a fridge stays cold. Apparently, this is harder to explain than actual thermodynamics.

2. 

   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentStep one: a fridge does not make cold. It moves heat out.

3. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorSo the fridge is a strip-mall store, and heat is a shoplifter getting walked out by a guy named Randy.

4. 

   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentFine, close enough. A special liquid flows through pipes inside the fridge.

5. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThat's Randy's coworker. Also named Randy. Sweaty walkie-talkie, lots of pipes, great energy.

6. 

   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentWhen that liquid turns into gas, it soaks up heat, like sweat cooling your skin. Per Wikipedia, it evaporates to absorb the heat.

7. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorSo the Randys are sweating the heat out of the store. I love their work ethic.

8. 

   Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThen a pump squeezes the gas outside the fridge, where it lets the heat go. There are no Randys.

9. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorOutside the fridge.

10. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorOkay, real question. Why is the back of the fridge warm?

11. 

    Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThat is the heat that came out of your food. The fridge dumps it into the kitchen through the coils at the back.

12. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorSo the back is the parking lot, and I'm going to go stand in it with a lawn chair.