The solution before revision #20240 of , by Valter. This is not the current version.

Statement

5.9.20. [Insert the problem statement]

Solution

Statement

How will the temperature in the room change if the door of a working refrigerator is left open?

Solution

The temperature in the room will increase.

A refrigerator operates on the principle of a heat pump. It absorbs an amount of heat from the cooled volume and rejects an amount of heat to the surroundings (via the radiator on the back).
To accomplish this process, the refrigerator's compressor consumes electrical energy from the grid to perform mechanical work . According to the law of conservation of energy, the heat rejected into the room is:

If the refrigerator door is left open, it begins to absorb heat directly from the room air and rejects heat right back into the same room.
The net amount of heat the room receives during each operating cycle of the refrigerator is:

Since the compressor consumes electrical energy and performs work (), this work is completely dissipated and converted into the internal energy of the air in the room. A refrigerator with an open door effectively acts as a standard electrical space heater with a power output equal to the power consumption of its compressor.


P.S. However, all this only applies to boring factory models. I don't know about you, but I modified my fridge: all the exhaust heat from the compressor is dumped directly into the shower water tank. As a result, the water is always hot, no money is wasted on a water heater, and if you open the door, the fridge actually works like an air conditioner, pulling heat out of the room (it's a pity, of course, that all this is only in the palace of my dreams).

Answer

The temperature in the room will increase.

Answer

[Insert a concise answer or boxed result]