Einstein, 1930 and US patent 1781541
Just read this really interesting fact that I never knew.
The patent was for a refrigerator.
Fridges seem to work despite the second law of thermodynamics, which says that heat always flows from a hotter to a colder body in a closed system. The get-out clause is ‘in a closed system’. A refrigerator gets away with it by consuming energy in order to pump heat to the outside, where it emerges from the radiator, usually located on the back.
When Einstein and Szilard invented their fridge, most current refrigerators operated using a poisonous gas as the refrigerant, which was kept under high pressure – an accident waiting to happen. In the 1920s, a German family was killed when the seal broke on the refrigerator and the gas escaped.
This led Einstein and Szilard to come up with a fridge design where there were no moving parts and the coolant was kept under constant pressure. It used a mix of two compounds, one of which could be quickly extracted to drop the pressure and hence the temperature. Einstein is usually thought of as unworldly and impractical, but he did have considerable experience of inventions from when he worked in the Swiss Patent Office.
This design is not widely used, but it has the advantage for developing-world applications of working with any source of heat, not just electricity.
Source: Clegg, Brian. “How Many Moons Does the Earth Have?"
Buy Bodge Buster – Homeowner Air Source Heat Pump Installation Guide: https://amzn.to/3NVndlU
From Zero to Heat Pump Hero: https://amzn.to/4bWkPFb
Subscribe and follow our Homeowners’ Q&A heat pump podcast
- 26 Forums
- 2,114 Topics
- 46.4 K Posts
- 87 Online
- 3,410 Members
Latest Posts
-
RE: No-code, plug-and-play monitoring for your heat pump
By Grantmethestrength , 16 hours ago
-
@eliuccio good to hear you’re happy with the install. A...
By Mars , 1 day ago
-
RE: Is this just haze or something more?
I am not a scientist nor a meteorologist and I know the...
By Toodles , 2 days ago
-
RE: Benefits of an extra horizontal loop for GSHP
It will improve performance, but by how much depends on...
By Brendon Uys , 2 days ago
-
RE: The good, the bad and the not that great – my heat pump installation
Said I would pop back with a update. Only Mr Jesus h...
By Burtis , 2 days ago
-
RE: Buffers, hot water and cooling
Thats presumably heat pump DT, what about radiator DT a...
By JamesPa , 3 days ago
-
RE: Who's your electricity provider and what's your tariff?
@chandykris Exactly the same here. We now have 13.5kWh ...
By Old_Scientist , 3 days ago
-
Compressor and Evaporator Stratification
I have had a few issues with my Hitachi spilt heatpump ...
By trebor12345 , 3 days ago
-
RE: Wood burner with ASHP - direct air?
This depends on the size of your wood burner and size/t...
By Lucia , 4 days ago
-
RE: Difficult positioning of air source heat pump
@rikiarn It's a not a buffer it's a volumiser which is ...
By Lucia , 4 days ago
-
RE: Is your heat pump insured?
To make things clear, lots of insurance companies cover...
By Lucia , 4 days ago
-
RE: Boxt Heat Pump Installation Experience
@adrian any updates since installation? How is it perfo...
By Ashfp , 4 days ago
-
RE: Say hello and introduce yourself
Hi @seatonian - Yes, I know Seaton, and I have the Nat...
By Transparent , 5 days ago
-
@seatonian got your email. Will connect you with a reco...
By Mars , 5 days ago
-
@downfield and @toddles, this isn’t in the settings cur...
By Mars , 1 week ago
-
RE: Homely launched for Grant Aerona ASHP control
I haven't bought the Aerona Smart Controller (£700!) bu...
By Prunus , 1 week ago
-
RE: Antifreeze top up for my heat pump - is this a rip off?
For the record, Grant supply ethylene glycol for their ...
By Prunus , 1 week ago
-
RE: Compressor attempts start but fails - Nibe Fighter 2005 8kW
@skyefarmer amazing. Well done!
By Mars , 1 week ago
-
RE: Air source heat pump roll call – what heat pump brand and model do you have?
Ebac 5kw - Monobloc R32. Developed and made in UK - Mit...
By marcinwloch69@gmail.com , 1 week ago
-
RE: Is a Valliant Inline 6kW heater a BUS buster?
Just another thought - it might be worth thinking about...
By JamesPa , 1 week ago