The process of the invention of the refrigerator (refrigerator) has been started since the 18th century. Refrigerators are part of household appliances that function to preserve food ingredients and freeze liquids, besides that refrigerators can also be used in supermarkets, pharmacies, hospitals, pharmacies, dairy factories, butter, photography, silk industry, medicine with other functions and uses. different ones.
History of Refrigerators
It has been a long time since humans thought to be able to make their food ingredients durable, various ways were done to fulfill this, such as:
- Fumigation, this method is done by storing food ingredients in a closed place and then smoke will be blown into it.
- Salting, the food to be preserved will be soaked in salt water and dried in the sun.
- Drying, this method is done by reducing the water content contained in the food ingredients to the maximum extent.
However, all of the above methods still have many drawbacks, namely: changes in taste, changes in food texture, and loss of smell/aroma. thus making food ingredients not fresh anymore.
Once humans knew that cold temperatures could make food ingredients last longer, that's where the ideas came from to make food coolers. Among the ways that have been done by humans are: making buildings for food ingredients which are outside surrounded by natural ice/snow or making food warehouses located underground with the intention that in the basement there will be naturally cold temperatures.
With the development of science and technology, find electricity which makes a massive industrial revolution in the world, including the manufacture of places to cool foodstuffs using electric power.
Invention of the Refrigerator by William Cullen
Model by William Cullen
From the simple discovery of food preservation by refrigeration / freezer then find a refrigeration device by several experts, the best technique in terms of the invention of the refrigerator was made by William Cullen at the University of Glasgow in 1748. However, he did not use his invention for practical purposes, then his work was refined by other experts at a later time.
William Cullen invented the refrigerator because he knew that refrigerated foodstuffs reduce the growth of bacteria because these bacteria can survive in cold environments. William Cullen was an American physician who developed the refrigerator in 1748 after he did thorough research on bacteria and discovered that bacteria have a weakness with cold media.
In 1845, in the Orleans area, Lusiana, the first air-conditioning machine that could operate for a long time was found, the invention was finally tested on a meat carrier that would depart from Australia to England and the results of the trials were satisfactory.
The invention of the refrigerator (refrigerator) by several Experts:
In 1748, William Cullen of the University of Glasgow developed a process for creating artificial cooling media.
At that time no one paid attention to the commercial potential of this invention. William's discoveries are only used for scientific purposes.
An American inventor, Oliver Evans created the first refrigerator design in 1804 but until 1834 no one was interested at all. Jacob Perkins finally realized Oliver's design in 1834.
In 1844, a doctor named John Gorrie also built a refrigeration unit which was used to create a refrigerated room for his patients suffering from jaundice.
In 1876, Carl von Linden discovered a method to improve the gas liquefaction process and later patented it.
Carl's invention was very helpful in making refrigerators more practical. At that time ammonia, sulfur dioxide, and methyl chloride were used for cooling, but these compositions proved to be unsafe and caused many accidents.
After that freon was used as a cooling medium widely until evidence was found that its use was not friendly to the environment and caused the depletion of the ozone layer.
Freon or CFC is then replaced by HFC as a cooling medium that is more friendly to the environment.