Thermoacoustic Cooler Means Green-Friendly Icecream 318
MuddyRiverDoc writes "National Public Radio aired a story describing ice cream
manufacturer Ben & Jerry's sponsored
development of a thermoacoustic refrigeration technology, which uses helium gas
subjected to ultra-loud 173 db sound to chill an ice cream cooler. The NPR interview and
pictures of the Penn State researchers who did the development is
available. There is also a brief description of the technique at the Penn State Live site and at the BBC, and an
over-cute Ben & Jerry's broadband presentation, Sounds Cool!, that
does however provide a useful diagram. Thermoacoustic refrigeration has been a focus of research
for more than a decade at Purdue
and elsewhere,
and has reportedly flown on the Space Shuttle, but this prototype is reportedly
the first that demonstrates the size, efficiency, and quiet operation that
promises successful commercial introduction. Cool Sound Industries,
Inc. is reportedly exclusively licensed for this thermoacoustic technology."
Microwave Fridge (Score:3, Interesting)
Peltier cooler? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Microwave Fridge (Score:3, Interesting)
to a friend, he dismissed it as impossible... but his mother who happened to be there (and also happens to be a major Physics major) liked the idea and after some years of occassional debate between her and her college professor-type friends, they phoned me to tell me that sound waves would do the trick...
At least now I know I wasnt so crazy after all!
Re:Same Energy as Freon Systems (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I'm amazed B&J's still operates semi-autono (Score:3, Interesting)
And its probably good marketing . . . keeps the "socially concious" brand reputation.
I heard that (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Peltier cooler? (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course, I do find it funny that we allow our homes to be built on radon sites, but would prevent Tritium from being used on watch dials. But that was a total knee jerk reaction.
From what I have heard, Boeing is getting ready to use them as is the military. In many ways they make a lot more sense as no mechanical parts. Pretty much means no future repairs or re-filling.
What's the problem GreenFreeze? (Score:3, Interesting)
Unless they expect this to be cheaper/ more efficient, I can't understand why they would finance such research- except as publicity.
Ice cream plants are already enviromentally safe (Score:5, Interesting)
The reason you don't have ammonia in your car and home is that exposure to the chemical in concentrations above 300ppm poses health risk. 30 minutes of exposure above 1720ppm can cause death and 5,000ppm is rapidly fatal. It should never be used in a run-to-failure, zero maintenance system like your kitchen fridge or AC unit.
Re:Thermoacoustic cooling for airconditioning? (Score:2, Interesting)
The issue here is not energy-efficency, it's abandoning ozone-depleateing refrigerants.
Re:Ice cream plants are already enviromentally saf (Score:4, Interesting)
The end result is fewer fridges go to landfills beause they broke.
Even if the average lifetime of the fridge can be raised by a few percent, that's significant reduction in appliance-garbage.
Re:Question (Score:3, Interesting)
- Stoves that have doors that must be opened to see inside, and doors that open downwards letting heat escape. Could be better designed with larger, clearer windows and lighting inside, and doors that either open upwards (hinged at top) or have some shutter-type arrangement that would allow heat to stay inside the oven with less escape.
- Refridgerators that have freezers on top, doors that open horizontally, and create waste heat in the rest of the room. More efficient would be freezers that open upwards (like ice chests) or freezers on the bottom (let the heat rise up and keep the 'fridge' compartment warmer than the freezer), windows that let you see food so that you don't have to let the cold out while you look at the contents, and a way of harnessing the waste heat for use in the oven or dishwasher located right next to the fridge.
- Sinks without thermocouples, necessitating playing with the faucet to get the proper temperatures... A dial would be much faster and easier.
Etc.-T
Re:Microwave Fridge (Score:2, Interesting)
Using the Peltier effect you can. By connecting a high conducting material and a low conducting material to a battery, the high conducting material becomes cold, without even getting hot. The heat transfers to the low conducting material regardless of the ambiant temprature.
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~jsnyder/thermoelectri
http://www.quasarelectronics.com/3066.htm [quasarelectronics.com]
Refinement of Einstein and Szilard's design? (Score:2, Interesting)