Does Water Cool Faster in a Refrigerator or Freezer?

Does a refrigerator or a freezer work better for quick cooling?

Although there are some cases when a warm liquid will freeze faster than a cold one, the science in the case of freezer vs. refrigerator follows intuition. Liquids such as water placed in a freezer will get colder faster than liquids in a refrigerator.

Significance

The principle at work in cooling water is heat transfer. When objects are put into the refrigerator or freezer, heat moves away from the container through the process of conduction. The heat in the liquid moves into the cool air and the colder shelf of the freezer or refrigerator.

Considerations

The colder the air that surrounds the warm object, the more quickly the heat transfer will take place. So a frozen freezer shelf attracts heat faster than a cool but not frozen refrigerator shelf. Metal is a better conducting material than plastic, so a metal can would cool liquid more quickly.

Misconceptions

There are faster ways to cool liquids than a freezer. Two principles explain this. First, conduction works more quickly in liquids than in gases, and second, the colder the material around the warm item, the faster the heat will be conducted away. So the fastest way to cool liquids is to surround them with salty ice water.

References

• Mansfield Schools: Convection, Conduction and Radiation
• The Straight Dope: Does Stuff Cool Faster in the Freezer Than the Fridge
• Types of Energy: Thermal Energy Explained