If I left a can of pop in the fridge for one year, would it be any colder on day 365 than it was on day 2?

Answer 1

Your soda pop gets cold because heat Q leaves the soda and surrounding can. Q = kA (del T) t/h; where Q is the amount of heat transferred through a can of area A and thickness h, k is the coefficient of heat transfer, t is the length in time of the transfer, and del T is the temperature difference between outside the can and inside the can.

Thus, we can see, once the inside and outside temperatures are equal, we have del T = 0; so no more Q is extracted from the can. And no matter how long (t) the can sits in the reefer, there will be no more heat extracted as long as the inside and outside temperatures are equal. And that means the inside temperature will not change.

What really happens, of course, is that the inside temperature rises ever so slightly from time to time. At which time the excess Q is extracted (heat always runs from the high energy (high temperature) side to the low (low temperature) side, like a cascade in a waterfall goes from the high side of the falls to the low side.)

With the excess Q extracted, the temperature inside the can once again goes back equal to the outside temperature of the reefer. But these fluctuations are so slight if the thermostat on the reefer is a good one, that they will not be noticeable.

Bottom line, no, if the thermostat is a good one and Junior doesn't leave the reefer door open all the time, there should be no noticeable difference over the year.

Answer 2

Go on then, since this is the physics section. In theory, yes. A can of pop can be treated as a simple heat reservoir. The rate of loss of heat will be proportional to the temperature difference (Tambient - Tpop). This gives a classic exponential decay solution with the temperature of the pop falling asymptotically towards the ambient temperature within the fridge.

Answer 3

It would be the temperature of the fridge on day 365. If the fridge keeps a constant temperature over the 365 day period, it will be unchanged.

Answer 4

only if the refrigerator gets colder. once the can of pop gets to the ambient air temperature it wouldnt just heat up or cool down unless the air did so first.

Answer 5

One it reaches the equilibrium ( sry for my spelling ) it cannot get any colder.

Answer 6

i dont think so because unless you turn down your temperature sometime in that year it sould still be as cool on day 365 as day 2. i think.