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The Technological Development of Refrigerator Through History

The refrigerator is one of the many appliances we take for granted. The history of the refrigerator did not start out with a metal box being able to produce cool air, it started out thousands of years ago when humans used many different cooling methods to prevent their foods from spoiling. Refrigerators have greatly evolved from the initial idea of preserving flood. However, the fundamental purpose of the refrigerator has not changed and will not change. This is because refrigeration is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space in a substance, to lower its temperature (Refrigeration, n.d.) and if this process changes it will no longer be a refrigerator .The invention of the refrigerator’s system has greatly evolved over time and has greatly impacted society with it’s design and purpose. Before the actual invention of the refrigerator, the idea of it started off by using snow, ice, springs, caves and cellars. The only way to preserve meat and fish was by salting and/or smoking (Encyclopedia: Lincoln, Abraham, 2004). Each culture had their own ways of keeping their foods cool and preserved. The ability to preserve foods without altering its original taste and nutrients was very important. There were no refrigerators at this time period; however, they did have a refrigerating system. These methods of refrigerating can be traced back to the when the Chinese started to cut ice blocks for refrigeration purpose in 10,000 B.C. (Encyclopedia: Lincoln, Abraham, 2004). Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans placed large amounts of snow into storage pits that were dug into the ground and insulated with wood and straw.  Ancient Egyptians filled jars with boiled water and put them on their roofs at night, exposing the jars to the cool air, producing ice. Later, 18^th century England had icehouses, lined with ice that were collected in the winter. In these icehouses, sheets of ice were packed in salt, wrapped in strips of flannel, and stored underground to keep goods cold/frozen though the summer. These breakthroughs in ideas and methods led the way to the production of the technology used in refrigerators of today.  The first refrigeration system started in 1748 by William Cullen. However, he did not use his invention for any practical purposes (Encyclopedia: Lincoln, Abraham, 2004).

The first practical refrigerating machine was produced in the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution took place between 1760 and 1850 and was the time when many important inventions were created and improved, including the invention of the first practical refrigerator. This refrigerator used a vapor compression cycle and was built by Jacob Perkins. With the help of Dr. John Goorie’s ice producing machine, both Perkins and Goorie produced “cooled air” (Encyclopedia: Lincoln, Abraham, 2004) for the yellow fever patients in 1834 (Encyclopedia: Lincoln, Abraham, 2004). The refrigerator used the basic principle of compressing gas, cooling the enclosed surrounding area by sending it through radiating coils, and then expanding it to lower temperatures (Roger’s Refrigeration, n.d.). This basic principle is currently used in the refrigerators today. In the 1840s, refrigerators were introduced to mobilization and were used as refrigerated vehicles to transport milk and butter. By the 1860s, refrigerated transportation were mostly seafood and dairy products. This portable way of cooling and transportation presented a positive impact on society and its economy. It allowed people to preserve their foods for longer amounts of time without spoiling, saving them money, time and effort. Also, the refrigerating industry welcomed a whole new world of job opportunities. The ability to refrigerate larger areas then led to refrigerated warehouses, nurseries (for the florists), and large refrigerators to preserve remains of biological matter. Also, refrigerators are/were used in production of vast amounts of ice in hotels, restaurants, saloon, and soda fountains, providing a large market (Roger’s Refrigeration, n.d.). These ideas carried on to the post-industrial era.

Refrigerators were not introduced as a household appliance until 1911 (Encyclopedia: Lincoln, Abraham, 2004). The mass production of refrigerators did not start until World War II. During the War, refrigerators were used to provide healthier foods to the frontline without spoiling them and for the concerns of soldiers’ health. After World War II, the production of refrigerators increased (Encyclopedia: Lincoln, Abraham, 2004) and became a necessity of every household. One of the biggest steps towards the modern day refrigerator is the process of the liquefying gas, patented by Carl Von Linden in 1876. A refrigerator uses the evaporation of a refrigerant or liquid to absorb heat and allows the substance to remain cold and to be preserved for longer amounts of time. From the late 1800s to 1929 refrigerators have been using Ammonia (NH3), Methyl Chloride (CH3Cl), and Sulphur (SO2) as refrigerant (Bellis, M., 1997). However, in the 1930s scientists realized that these gasses are highly toxic and were the cause of many fatal accidents in the 1920s (when methyl chloride leaked out of the refrigerator causing many health issues) (Bellis, M., 1997). Feon 12 was then introduced and replaced Sulphur dioxide as the most commonly used refrigerants (Bellis, M., 1997).

Decades later, people would realize that Freon (chlorofluorocarbons) can and were destroying the ozone layer. In the 1970s and 1980s people became aware of the environmental problems and made them a top priority (Encyclopedia: Lincoln, Abraham, 2004). This then led to the more energy-efficient refrigerators and the elimination of chlorofluorocarbons in refrigeration sealed systems, these are the refrigerators we use today. Refrigerators are now the most used appliances in America, more then 99.5% of Americans own a refrigerator in their home (Encyclopedia: Lincoln, Abraham, 2004).

References:

Bellis, M. (1997, January 22). The History of the Refrigerator and Freezers.

Inventors, Retrieved March 12, 2009, from database.

Brain, M. (2006, November 29). How Refrigerators Work. Introduction to How

Refrigerators Work, Retrieved March 10, 2009, from database.

Encyclopedia: Lincoln, Abraham. (2004). The History Channel website. Retrieved

March 11, 2009, May 9, 2006, from

http://www.historychannel.com/thcsearch/thc_resourcedetail.do?encyc_id=214843.

Refrigeration. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Stedman’s Medical Dictionary.

Retrieved March 15, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/refrigeration

Roger’s Refrigeration. (n.d.). Refrigeration History. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from

http://www.rogersrefrig.com/history.html

Word Count: 927

The refrigerator is one of the most important pieces of technology that we take for granted. It first showed its many uses after it was invented in World War I, to provide “troops with portable healthy foods” (BECKLEY, 2007). Soon after, the refrigerator became an essential part of an everyday home, because of its convenience by allowing foods to be stored for longer amounts of time without spoiling, therefore saving energy and time. Refrigerators then led to the creation of many other products, including flash-freezing, which is a process that freezes cooked food under pressure to keep most of the taste and nutrients of the product while being preserved. This technique would not be possible to maintain its frozen state and its convenience without the refrigerator and freezer (BECKLEY, 2007). The refrigerator also changed the way people preserve their food. Without refrigerators prolonging the life span of the food, people would have to resort back to dehydrated and spiced/salted food and canned goods.

However, the refrigerator and freezers have barely changed its fundamental purpose or basic design in decades (HOLUSHA, 1992).  This was the main issue John Holusha talked about in his New York Times article, The Refrigerator of the Future, for Better and Worse. The consumers have been expecting, after almost a century, that the invention of the refrigerator would have been perfected by now. The greatest concern about refrigerators is the amount of energy it consumes, the ecological affecting chemicals it uses decades (HOLUSHA, 1992). The main chemical that refrigerator manufactures use is chlorofluorocarbon 12, that it is used as a refrigerant, and chlorofluorocarbon 11, for its insulation features. The chemicals used in the refrigerator, or any chlorofluorocarbon chemical, has been identified as “thinning the earth’s ozone layer” (HOLUSHA, 1992). Because of this matter, each individual company is trying to develop a safe and energy efficient way of keeping our food cool and still gives the appearance and structure of our everyday refrigerator. Currently they are becoming successful in this matter by reducing chemical admission and cutting back on one third of the energy consumption. Also, they are trying to find a new insulating system that fits the new environmental laws (HOLUSHA, 1992).Until the moment someone figures out how to produce a refrigerator that is financially sound and environmentally friendly, refrigerators have a long term negative affect upon our society and future generations. Nevertheless, currently the ability to store and prolong the effects of aging in our food is essential to people’s everyday lives and health. Before the creation of refrigerators the ability to keep fresh fruits and vegetables after being picked was very unlikely, causing diseases like scurvy because of the lack of vitamins. Refrigerators also provide convenience, allowing a person to buy a weeks’ worth of food and keep it fresh in their refrigerator until needed. While if there was no refrigerator they would have to travel to the store everyday.

The refrigerator’s main concept should not change for the fact that people need the to keep food cold to prevent spoiling and for cooking and consumption purposes. However, the technology of the refrigerator needs enhancing. There needs to be improvements on producing an energy efficient and an environmentally friendly insulation system that can main maintain a life span of at least 15 years. I think that if someone could invent a way for people to get their food without allowing the cool air out would help save energy. This is because every time the refrigerator door opens it releases a lot of cool air and it takes energy to maintain the regular refrigerator temperature. If this kind of technology can be synthesized it would revolutionize the production of the everyday refrigerator making it one of technology’s greatest positive accomplishments in assisting human’s lives.

References

Beckley, Jacqueline H. (2007). Accelerating New Food Product Design and Development. N/A; Blackwell Publishing

Holusha, John. (1992, August 30). The Refrigerator of the Future, for Better and Worse. New York Times.

Consumer’s World::Guidepost; Refrigerating Food. (1990, July 28). New York Times.

Hi I am Paulina! that’s a picture of me (look down)

I am weird.

That basically covers most of it. However, if you want to know some irrelevant facts that could possibly help you learn about my personality and who I am please read the following: I am a Figure Skater, I adore fashion and arts, I love laughing and smiling with my friends and family, I am known to be quite random at times, and people have said I have a bubbly personality.

okay time for the favorite technology part of this blog:
The technology I like to use the most is the Internet. The reason i like using the Internet is for the convenience it provides and how it allows me to obtain endless amounts information and how it allows me to connect with people all around the world.

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