Here is a/c in a nut shell:
Refrigerent is compressed from compressor to condensor as a hot gas. Condensor condenses the hot gas to hot liquid and then gives off heat. Refrigerent runs through a metering device in liquid form and in the process evaporates to become a cold, vapor.
4 basic parts of an a/c system
1. compressor
2. condensor
3. metering device
4. evaporator
compressor acts like a "pump"
condensor acts like a "radiator"
metering device is a valve with a small orffice that only lets a small amount of liquid through to cool the liquid and changes form into gas or vapor
evaporator absorbs heat from the gas to give off an even cooler air