Refrigerators and air conditioners use a substance known as a "refrigerant" to absorb heat. Some of the first cooling systems used carbon dioxide and other naturally occurring chemicals as refrigerants, but these chemicals were not ideal for small cooling applications.

Question

How did engineers solve this problem and make small-scale refrigerators and air conditioners possible?
A.
by bringing liquid water below its freezing point
B.
by developing new chemicals with new properties
C.
by using a compression system to compress carbon dioxide into a liquid
D.
by capturing oxygen gas from the atmosphere

Answer 1

The correct answer is B. by developing new chemicals with new properties.

Engineers developed synthetic refrigerants with properties that made them more suitable for small-scale refrigerators and air conditioners. These new chemicals provided better efficiency, lower toxicity, and improved performance at a range of temperatures, making modern cooling systems more effective and practical.