Frozen Orange Experiment Allows Japanese Scientists To Develop a Freezer That Works Under Deep Sea Pressure

Oranges are perfect during the scorching heat of the summer season since it is composed of 80% water. Frozen oranges are also famous and are easy to be made at home. However, it tastes better when made half a mile below sea level.

Tasty, Cold Experiment

Oranges frozen 850 meters underwater are a little salty but very tasty. This was the recent discovery by a group of Japanese scientists led by deep-sea geochemist Shinsuke Kawaguchi from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.

Kawaguchi and his teammates designed a very unusual freezer in 2020. This device is made to function under the extreme pressure of the deep sea. Using an orange frozen in the depths of Sagami Bay in Japan, they were able to prove that this is, in fact, possible.

The prototype deep-sea freezer involves a pressure-resistant tube containing a thermoelectric cooling device. An electric current is run through a pair of semiconductors, prompting the device to produce a temperature difference due to Peltier Effect. This way, the device's contents can be cooled down to -13 degrees Celsius, below the freezing point of seawater. Since liquid nitrogen or other refrigerants are not required to cool its housing, the freezer can be compactly built with less engineering skills.

Japanese researchers say their prototype freezer is more than just a snack machine. Since the samples can be frozen at depth, this device allows scientists to improve their ability to study marine life in the deep sea.

During deep-sea explorations, animals are often brought to the water's surface for further investigation. Unfortunately, this method is a destructive practice that can leave the samples damaged and deformed. Previous attempts have been made where scientists designed devices to help keep the deep-sea samples cool while being studied on the surface. The new prototype freezer Kawaguchi and his colleagues developed is the first device to freeze marine samples.

The research team plans to make further improvements to their freezer before testing it on living samples. They are also confident that this innovation will allow other scientists to gather and study even the most delicate creations from the deep regions of the sea.

What is Peltier Effect?

The Peltier Effect is a thermoelectric effect that involves converting temperature into voltage differences. It was named after French physicist Jean Charles Peltier who discovered the thermoelectric effect in 1834 while conducting his research on electricity.

This phenomenon refers to heating or cooling a sample at an electrified junction of two conductors. As the current can flow through an intersection between conductors, the heat can be added or removed at the junction.

Thermoelectric cooling using the Peltier Effect has found significant applications since it allows an object to be cooled without any moving components or another complex mechanism separating the cooler from its environment. In utilizing the Peltier Effect, the devices take advantage of thermoelectric coolers connected in series to construct Peltier modules with greater cooling capabilities.

Nowadays, the Peltier Effect is applied in making cells for consumer electronics such as computers. It is also widely used in compact refrigerators and satellites.

Check out more news and information on Thermoelectric Effect in Science Times.