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Air-conditioning
Although it might not seem like it, air-conditioning is one of humanities greatest technical triumphs. Initially produced for the printing company Sackett & Wilhelms to help control humility to aid in the printing process, the technology has gone into thousands of practical applications. "It enabled the spread of shopping malls, transatlantic flights, computers and servers that support the Internet." (2) It would appear that an air-conditioner violates conservation of energy by increasing thermal differences between systems, however, this is not the case as energy is actually put into the system to produce this difference. "The compressor condenses and circulates the refrigerant through the outdoor unit, changing it from a gas to a liquid. The liquid is then forced through the indoor evaporator coil or cooling compartment. The indoor unit’s fan circulates the inside air to pass across the evaporator fins. The evaporator’s metal fins exchange the thermal energy with the air around it. There, the refrigerant turns from liquid into vapor, removing any heat from the surrounding air. As the heat is removed from the air, the air is cooled and blown back into the house."(3) |
