The Invention That Killed Heat
30 September 2013
There's nothing worse than a hot humid day in summer, with no breeze gently blowing to cool things down and being stuck in a house without any air conditioning. Fans can certainly help, but when temperatures get as warm as they have this last summer, things are still stiflingly hot. People get in a bad mood, they get fatigued, children complain, the whole thing turns into an unmitigated disaster.
People get in a bad mood, they get fatigued, children complain, the whole thing turns into an unmitigated disaster. And yet, air-conditioning as we know it has only been around for a little over 100 years. Makes one wonder how people survived before this almost miraculous invention. And if you think it's bad here, imagine being close to the equator, where warm weather is more of a rule than an exception. Have we become spoiled in that respect? Perhaps we have, but the history of air conditioning points to the power of human ingenuity and inventiveness.
Air conditioning Colchester EOC services can provide you with all your needs.
Benjamin Does It Again
Benjamin Franklin really was a unique fellow, the likes of which arguably has not been seen since. True, he helped the rebellious colonies figure out a way to declare their independence from Great Britain and even managed to travel to France to get them to help finance the ultimate war that led to it. But he was more than just a Machiavellian statesman and free thinker. He also invented a lot of things, which is why he was one of the modern era’s original multi-taskers.
You are all probably familiar with his old experiment of launching a kite in the middle of a thunderstorm to try to understand the nature of electricity. The fellow was bloody lucky not to get completely electrocuted in the process! But he had a restless mind and one of the things he turned his attention to was how various liquids evaporated.
He enlisted the help of a Cambridge professor named John Hadley and discovered that liquids such as alcohol could actually evaporate at a rate which allowed them to freeze water. The gears had been set in motion.
One Step at a Time Practically 60 years later, while England and the United States were getting used to their new relationship, Michael Faraday basically stumbled upon the same concept as Franklin. The difference is that he used ammonia, which he found compressed and liquefied far more efficiently than any other substance available.
Although his idea was sound, it went nowhere, at the time. At about the same time, a doctor in Florida figured out how to compress gas to chill water enough to make ice cubes. With that, he started blowing cool air through patients’ rooms, keeping them comfortable in the hot and tropical Florida weather. The problem is that he could not attract any investors and so the idea of using ice to cool the entire building basically went right down the drain, literally.
Air-Conditioning Comes Home
It wasn't until the middle of the Great Depression that the first home air-conditioning units made their public appearance. They looked very much like the window units that are still found in many apartment buildings, although they were much less efficient.
Today, most people opt for central air conditioning, which is far more practical and useful.
Here in the UK, one can avail themselves of air conditioning Colchester EOC services not only for excellent service, but also to get just the right air conditioning system installed professionally and reliably. Wouldn't Benjamin Franklin be jealous!
Released By
EOC Services
