This one-hour history of the invention of refrigeration is one of the most beautiful things I have seen or heard. It takes complex principles and finds a way to explain them simply. _ It tells the story of how preindustrial Westerners obtained ice for their beverages. The ice merchant Frederic Tudor cut the ice off the top of frozen ponds in the winter and stored the ice in insulated ice houses that kept the heat out. When transporting ice to faraway lands via ship, he covered the ice chunks in saw dust. The saw dust absorbed the heat the ice chunks otherwise would have absorbed, and therefore the ice didnt melt as much. _ Then Dr. John Gorrie developed an early refrigerator to cool the air of his hospital. Refrigerators have tubes full of different chemicals in gas or liquid form. Some of these chemicals absorb all the heat, which therefore cools the rest of the refrigerator. _ Then the documentary goes on to Clarence Bob Birdseyes invention of frozen foods, and his discovery of the fact that food will taste better and remain fresher if you freeze it quickly rather than slowly. There are biological reasons for this. _ It goes on to explain how the great African-American engineer-entrepreneur Frederick McKinley Jones invented the refrigerated storage container for delivery trucks, thereby allowing frozen produce to be transported across entire continents. _ Finally, it discusses Willis Haviland Carriers invention of air conditioning. It got so hot, that the ink at the newspaper printing presses would smear. The newspaper hired Carrier to invent a method to treat the air so that it would remain cool -- not hot enough to smear the ink. At the same time, the air had to remain dry, as the air being moist would also adversely affect the ink. Carriers machine takes in air from the outside and cools in a refrigerated,dehumidifying filter. Within the filter, there are metals that absorb that trap the moisture. Out of the filter, and blowing into the building, is the air that is cooled and dehumidified. _ The only inventor profiled I had not previously heard of was Frederick Jones. The host, author Steven Johnson, mispronounced Birdseye. Its actually bird-zee. All in all, great show! :-D _ video.pbs.org/video/2365361151/
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 15:51:46 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015