Thermoacoustic prototype that uses a "Bellows Bounce"
resonator.
Scientists have found a new
way to refrigerate ice cream, by using sound waves instead
of chemicals. The system, which can power a small ice-cream
freezer case, is sponsored by Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream,
a company known for its efforts to protect the environment.
At the heart of the system is sound -- a 190-decibel note
that fluctuates some 100 times per second. That expansion
and compression creates pockets of cold and warm air.
A system of air circulators then funnels the cool air
into the ice cream case.
The new "green" freezer isn't likely to be seen
in stores any time soon, because of its cost -- considerably
more than conventional freezers that use chemicals. But
its creators say their system works, and it uses cheap
components to do work currently done by exotic -- and
often dangerous -- chemicals.
While the commercial future of the system is uncertain,
it passed a recent test at a Ben & Jerry's store in
New York. NPR's Robert Smith reports.
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INFORMATION
Robert Smith is NPR's New York
Correspondent. Before moving into his current position,
Smith was NPR's education reporter and covered public
schools and universities on the West Coast. He reported
on a variety of issues facing the education system, including
the challenges of over-crowding, tight budgets, teacher
retention, and new technology..
This article first appeared on NPR April, 2004. Their
website can be found at www.npr.org
Music without words means leaving behind the mind. And leaving behind the mind is meditation.
Meditation returns you to the source. And the source of all is sound. — Kabir
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