Function of the air conditioner fan outside?

[Iconoclast]

Really quick question, what exactly does the fan of the outside part of my split ac do? That fan seems to just make wind for no clear reason. I'm curious to know what it actually does.

 

[billy_joule]

The heat removed from inside the house is dumped outside. The fan speeds up this process.
http://home.howstuffworks.com/ac.htm

 

[CWatters]

+1. It means the external unit can be smaller than otherwise would be. Just as the heatsink on a CPU can be smaller if it has a fan.

 

[Chestermiller]

The outside fan blows air over the coils and causes the refrigerant to condense after it has been compressed in the compressor. Thus, the outside air removes a greater amount of heat than was picked up by the refrigerant when it evaporated in the evaporator (inside your house).