Refrigerators & the second law University Physics III · Thermodynamics
Entropy Ferry
Supply work to a reversible heat pump while meeting cooling and cargo-temperature limits.
Your arcade progress
0 XPXP, best stars and unlocked challenges stay saved in this browser.
Challenge 1 of 3
Cold-store crossing
A reversible refrigerator removes heat from a 250 K reservoir and rejects it to a 300 K reservoir.
Challenge cleared. Continue to unlock the next experiment.Handles also support arrow keys; the sliders offer the same controls.
Remove 950–1050 J from the cold reservoir in one cycle.
Build your setup
Test 1Restoring your saved experiment…
3 stars on your first test; 2 within three; 1 after that. A first clear earns 100 XP plus 10 per star. Better star records earn the difference; repeating a record earns no extra XP.
Your experiment is ready.
Use a Carnot refrigerator's coefficient of performance and energy balance to move a required amount of heat from a cold reservoir.
0 of 3 challenges cleared · Best stars, unlocked rounds and your experiment are saved in this browser.
From the course to the controls
The physics behind the game
Use a Carnot refrigerator's coefficient of performance and energy balance to move a required amount of heat from a cold reservoir.
COPᵣ = T꜀/(Tₕ − T꜀); Q꜀ = COPᵣ W; Qₕ = Q꜀ + W
Model assumptions. A reversible refrigerator transfers heat between two ideal constant-temperature reservoirs, with 0 < T꜀ < Tₕ in kelvin. Its Carnot COP is an upper bound; real refrigerators need more work for the same cooling duty. Work and heat are energy amounts in joules, not powers.