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History of the Refrigerator
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Demonstration of Refrigetation
The first known artificial refrigeration was demonstrated by William Cullen at the University of Glasgow in 1748 -
First Refrigetation Machine
In 1805, an American inventor, Oliver Evans, designed the first refrigeration machine.Oliver Evans described a closed vapor-compression refrigeration cycle for the production of ice by ether under vacuum. -
Liquefied Ammonia
In 1820, the British scientist Michael Faraday liquefied ammonia and other gases by using high pressures and low temperatures, and in 1834, an American expatriate to Great Britain, Jacob Perkins, built the first working vapor-compression refrigeration system in the world. It was a closed-cycle device that could operate continuously. -
Vapor Compression
The first practical refrigerating machine was built by Jacob Perkins in 1834; it used ether in a vapor compression cycle. -
Yellow Fever
An American physician, John Gorrie, built a refrigerator based on Oliver Evans' design in 1844 to make ice to cool the air for his yellow fever patients. -
Liqufying Gas
German engineer Carl von Linden, patented not a refrigerator but the process of liquifying gas in 1876 that is part of basic refrigeration technology. -
Home Refrigerators
In 1913, refrigerators for home and domestic use were invented by Fred W. Wolf of Fort Wayne, Indiana with models consisting of a unit that was mounted on top of an ice box.In 1914, engineer Nathaniel B. Wales of Detroit, Michigan, introduced an idea for a practical electric refrigeration unit, which later became the basis for the Kelvinator. -
Automatic Control
In 1918, Kelvinator Company introduced the first refrigerator with any type of automatic control. -
Absorption Refrigerator
The absorption refrigerator was invented by Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters from Sweden in 1922, while they were still students at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. -
Wooden Cold Box
There was a 1922 model that consisted of a wooden cold box, water-cooled compressor, an ice cube tray and a 9-cubic-foot (0.25 m3) compartment, and cost $714. (A 1922 Model-T Ford cost about $450.) -
Self-contained unit
By 1923, Kelvinator held 80 percent of the market for electric refrigerators. Also in 1923 Frigidaire introduced the first self-contained unit. About this same time porcelain-covered metal cabinets began to appear. -
Monitor-top refrigerator
The first refrigerator to see widespread use was the General Electric "Monitor-Top" refrigerator introduced in 1927, so-called because of its resemblance to the gun turret on the ironclad warship USS Monitor of the 1860s. The compressor assembly, which emitted a great deal of heat, was placed above the cabinet, and enclosed by a decorative ring. Over a million units were produced. As the refrigerating medium, these refrigerators used either sulfur dioxide, which is corrosive to the eyes and may -
Moder day Refrigerator
The 1940’s brought the refrigerator we recognize today. The bottom-cooling refrigerator was mass-produced, making it more affordable than refrigerators of the past. It was the first time in history that the majority of Americans owned a refrigerator. The refrigerator of the 1940s brought safe food storage to the American home, and set a standard of food safety. -
Finally
Since the 1950’s improvements in style and performance have continued to bring consumers design-conscious, energy-efficient refrigerators to choose from. -
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