The freezer in your kitchen is at about -22 degrees Celsius (-7.6 degrees Fahrenheit) despite the fact the outside temperature is more like 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). It achieves this using a gas, such as tetrafluoroethane, that has a boiling point not too far below 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit).
The freezer compresses the coolant, which heats it, and then passes the hot vapour around the coils at the back. Heat radiates from the colls to the kitchen, and the coolant temperature drops. As the coolant is under pressure, it condenses, even though it Is above its normal boiling point.
Vapour compression cycling using different gases can achieve much lower temperatures – as low as liquid helium (around -269 degrees Celsius/-452 degrees Fahrenheit). Below that you can use a laser to reach temperatures a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. This uses the momentum from the photons themselves to slow down individual atoms.