A chest freezer keeps its interior at while standing in a kitchen at

PHYSICS · Multi-part · Fermi University Physics · Thermal, Statistical & Complex Systems · The laws of thermodynamics · The laws of thermodynamics

Thermal Physics, Ch Heat engines, refrigerators and the Carnot cycle

Problem

A chest freezer keeps its interior at

258\,\mathrm{K}

while standing in a kitchen at

298\,\mathrm{K}

. Treat the interior and the kitchen air as reservoirs at those two temperatures. ((a)) What is the largest possible coefficient of performance

\mathrm{COP}_{\rm ref} = Q_c/W

for the freezer working as a cooling device? ((b)) If instead the same reversible device were used as a heat pump to warm the kitchen, what would its coefficient of performance

\mathrm{COP}_{\rm hp} = Q_h/W

be?

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