Styrofoam coolers are popular for keeping food and drinks hot or cold due to their availability and low cost. However, they are not made of Styrofoam but of polystyrene foam, which reduces heat transfer. They are not suitable for long-term use.
What is commonly called a Styrofoam cooler is a container designed to keep food and drinks hot or cold for an extended period of time. Commonly seen at picnics, beaches, and backyard barbecues, the Styrofoam cooler is a popular choice for those in need of a cooler due to its wide availability, availability, and economical price. A traditional picnic cooler can often cost many times more than a Styrofoam cooler.
It may surprise many to learn that what is commonly known as a Styrofoam cooler is actually not made of Styrofoam at all! Styrofoam is a registered trademark of the Dow Chemical Company for its brand of polystyrene foam. According to the company’s website, “there isn’t a coffee cup, cooler or packaging material in the world made of Styrofoam.” While Styrofoam and the material used to make the ubiquitous coolers are both made from polystyrene foam, they are actually composed of different polystyrene products.
Both polystyrene foam and rigid coolers work by reducing a process known as heat transfer. Whenever two objects of different temperatures come into contact with each other, heat will transfer from the hotter object to the cooler object until both are of the same temperature. This explains why a cold drink left out will eventually warm up to room temperature. The heat of the surrounding environment is transferred to the cold drink, raising its temperature.
Essentially, foam and hard-sided picnic coolers keep things hot or cold because they prevent heat from entering or leaving the container. Items that are cold are kept that way because the cooler prevents heat transfer into the container. Conversely, items that are warm stay warm because the cooler prevents heat from escaping.
An expanded polystyrene cooler works because expanded polystyrene is made up of up to eighty percent air. The air molecules in the foam reduce the amount of heat that can pass through it. This makes expanded polystyrene a poor conductor of heat. A traditional picnic cooler has a vacuum layer between the compartment that holds the food and the outer shell. The vacuum layer reduces heat transfer, keeping food and drinks hot or cold. Thermal bottles work on this same principle.
Foam coolers are popular choices for many because they are inexpensive and readily available. However, polystyrene foam is easily damaged and foam coolers are generally not designed for long-term use.
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