Why does ISS use ammonia and not liquid

nitrogen for cooling?

I guess that they could store liquid nitrogen cause vacuum is essentially cold (if properly shielded from sun), and
ammonia is pretty toxic so, what is really the advantage of having ammonia rather than nitrogen on the
international space station?
Answer :
- iquid nitrogen a!sor!s heat as it evaporates, and would have to !e continuously replenished with supplies
shipped from the surface of the "arth at great expense#
$he ammonia is used as a refrigerant in a closed cooling system, %ust li&e your household refrigerator or air
conditioner (which pro!a!ly uses '-()*, a different chemical)# $he ammonia cycles !etween liquid and gaseous
state in a closed loop# All it needs is energy, which is supplied in or!it from the solar panels#
- Ammonia conducts heat much more than nitrogen# It is li&e comparing steel to styrofoam# $his is important
!ecause a refrigeration system is a heat exchange engine# As the gas is compressed it releases heat and as it
expands it a!sor!s heat# Ammonia is also easier to liquify than nitrogen, so there is less wor& involved for the
compressor# $his ma&es an ammonia refrigeration system more efficient in terms of energy# In fact, the first
refrigerators used ammonia instead of the chlorofluorocar!ons they do today# +ar!on dioxide a!sor!s and
releases heat even !etter, !ut liquid +,- has the tendency to solidify easily and this %ams the compressor# ,f
course water is the !est, !ut the vapor exists at a far higher temperature than people can tolerate, so this gas is
!est used in steam tur!ines#
- If you &new anything a!out the thermodynamics of cooling, then I don.t thin& you.d !e as&ing this question#I
do /,$ &now why they use /0) compared to the other refrigerant gasses they could have selected, possi!ly its
weight, !ut /- would have !een a very very poor choice#
0ow does refrigerant wor&? 1o you even &now? /o, you don.t#
0ere is a lin&###
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Its not that /- can.t !e used# I assume that its use was considered and dismissed after a cost3ris&3!enefit
analysis#
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I am amused !y your claim that vacuum is cold# 4hy don.t you loo& up the temperature?
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,f course, vacuum doesn.t have a 5real5 temperature# 6ou should &now that# $he temperature of the gas and
plasma actually present in outer space is quite high# ,f course, if cooling is predominantly !y radiation, it may
swamp any heating in an extremely low pressure atmosphere# I guess that is what you meant# 7ut of course if its
shielded from the sun, then how efficient will radiative cooling !e?
Source(s):
http:33en#wi&ipedia#org3wi&i3'efrigerant###