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![[image of flower]](../../ima/flowXS_06.gif)
Cooling, Cooking, Cleaning, Heating and Air Conditioning |
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The artificial regulation of the heating, cooling, and indoor climate ("air conditioning") in homes, factories, shops, and stores by various heating, cooling, and air conditioning devices made work much more comfortable and productive. Spoilage of perishable foods was reduced considerably by refrigeration of warehouses, food stores, trucks and railroad cars, thus contributing to the efficiency of food processing and food transportation. Air conditioning means creating and maintaining an artificial climate in a building, store, or home. In hospitals, air conditioning keeps operating rooms sterile. Air is purified, cooled, heated, humidified (add water) or dried to make human and animal life more comfortable. Air conditioning depends on electricity to provide sensors that control the air conditioner so that the prescribed climate is maintained. A small amount of air is admitted to the room and mixed with the present air. This mixture is filtered to remove dust, smoke, odors (using activated carbon) and other particles. Air temperature is controlled by passing the air through hot or cold water tubes. Moisture is added by spraying fine water drops into the air. It is removed by lowering the temperature, which condenses the water vapor. Air is moved through the room by a fan to maintain an even climate. How 46 Around 500,000 BCE, fire was first artificially started, controlled and used by humans. This provided heating for warmth and cooking to primitive dwellings to make primitive life a little more comfortable and healthy. Around 221 BCE in China and 500 CE in Europe, clay and brick fireplaces enclosed on 3 sides were used. In Europe in the 1500s, when iron became cheaper and more available, some fireplaces and open fires were replaced by clay fire chambers with 3 clay sides and an iron top. the primary heating devices until stoves appeared in the 18th century. The first stove design that enclosed the fire completely appeared in Europe in 1735. This was the Castrol stove invented by the French architect, François Cuvilliés. It was a masonry construction with several fireholes covered by iron plates with holes for pots. Towards the end of the 18th century, this stove was refined by hanging the pots in holes through the top iron plate, thus improving heating efficiency. In the 18th century, all-iron stoves were invented. Wiki n.p. In the 18th century, all-iron stoves were invented. An example was the Franklin stove, a wood-burning stove invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1742. It had a labyrinthine path to prevent hot exhaust gases from escaping and cold air from entering, thus allowing more heat to stay in the room. Note that this stove was designed for heating, not for cooking, which was done by fireplaces. Wiki n.p.The invention of the stove was a great improvement over the fireplace, which was more wasteful of heat, much of which went up the chimney. Moreover, the updraft of hot air causes a downdraft of cold air from the outside into the home. As iron became cheaper, stoves became more affordable and began to be used in Europe. Asimov 220 Short-term refrigeration was provided to meat being and vegetables being cooled at a natural spring, often enclosed by a spring house, which also provided drinking water. Wealthy families near the ocean or large rivers may have had ice brought to them via sailing ships or river boats, but this was not common. The ice was made to last longer by covering it with straw and kept in underground ice houses. Long-term refrigeration for food did not exist. Food was preserved for long periods by salting, drying, and canning. Cooling the body could only be accomplished by opening up home, office, and plant windows and doors, which also let in the weather and vermin. In this decade, heating and cooking was mostly by stone or brick fireplaces, altghough stoves were beginning to be used by non-wealthy families as iron production became more efficient and productive.The first natural gas well in the U.S. was drilled and began production in Fredonia, NY, in 1821. The gas was piped to the Fredonia Hotel and used for lighting and cooking. Carruth 165 In 1831, the French chemist, Charles Sauria, coated small sticks with phosphorus diluted with other materials that prevented conflagration until struck on a hard surface to provide friction that produced enough heat to light the phosphorus. Thus, the match made lighting fires much more efficient than earlier methods. Asimov 328 Water containers left in homes, offices and plants were the only way to increase humidity to make the air more comfortable. However, the stagnant water created health problems because it serves as a breeding ground for insects. Air conditioning begins in 1906 with the 'Apparatus for Treating Air' patented by Willis Haviland Carrier. |
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