In what year was the refrigerator invented?
The American supplier of butter, Thomas Moore, in 1803 came up with the idea of covering the butter container with rabbit skins to increase shelf life. He called his creation a refrigerator. In 1805, the American Oliver Evans developed the design of a machine for producing cold using the para-compression method, but it never came to the point of using the invention in practice. In 1834, improving on Evans' ideas, Jacob Perkins patented a refrigerator.
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When did the refrigerator appear: chronology
The first mentions of food refrigeration technology in the Dark Ages
People have known about the benefits of cold for storing supplies for centuries. Archaeologists excavating in the territory of ancient Persia (modern Iran) found huge underground storage facilities, the thickness of the walls exceeded 2 meters, used for storing ice and were called “yakshal”. Glaciers were widely used, deep earthen pits with a roof, which was dismantled and blocks of ice were placed in it; the ice was kept in the cellar so that the housewife did not run into the yard for every small need. Medieval alchemists discovered that when saltpeter is dissolved in water, the room becomes cold.
Who invented the first devices that turned water into ice
The American doctor John Gorey came up with the idea of using a compressor in Evans' scheme and in 1851 presented to the public a patented apparatus for making ice. In 1857, a refrigerator car appeared. Carl von Linde's refrigeration machine, using ammonia, produced ice from water on an industrial scale and was a huge commercial success (1879).
Creative methods of obtaining artificial cold in the 19th century
In 1841, using Evans' method, John Gorey built an apparatus that reduced the air temperature in a room. This machine could be used as a freezer and as an air conditioner. Carl von Linde created the prototype of the first household refrigerator (1873). The inventor’s bulky brainchild, which contained highly toxic ammonia as a refrigerant, could not be widely used in everyday life, as it was dangerous. The first electrically powered refrigerator appeared in 1913.
Development of the refrigeration industry in the USSR
In the USSR, by government decree in 1930, VNIHI was established, and its own laboratory was created in Leningrad, dealing with issues of “cold”. Scientists worked on a variety of topics, for example: they invented a heat-insulating material to replace the cork purchased abroad. In 1951, the ZIS plant (later ZIL) produced the Moscow refrigerator with a refrigeration chamber volume of 165 liters. Its net weight is 85-95 kg. The production of small-sized devices with a chamber volume of 65 liters is located at the Saratov plant. In 1961, the Minsk refrigeration plant (since 1977 NPO Atlant) began producing Minsk-1. Using the developments of these factories, the USSR launched mass production of refrigerators in the 60s.For this purpose, factories were built in Baku, Murom, Orsk, Apsheronsk, Krasnoyarsk, etc.
What prototypes of modern refrigerators existed in different eras
In Europe
In Germany, the AEG company began producing refrigeration machines in 1912. The first German serial refrigerator was equipped with a double door, which was lined with tiles. At the Leipzig fair in 1927, eight companies already presented their products.
In Russia
The first people in Russia to use industrial cold were in Astrakhan in 1888; the fish processing plant was located on the banks of the Volga. At the beginning of the 20th century, a refrigeration machine called “Eskimo” was sold in Moscow and could freeze up to 12 liters of water. In the USSR, in 1934-1935, the production of commercial refrigeration equipment began at the Red Torch plant. The first serial refrigerator, with a refrigeration chamber capacity of 120 liters, was produced by the Kharkov Tractor Plant under the brand name “KhTZ-120”
In America
In 1926, the Dane Christian Steenstrup proposed the design of a home refrigeration machine, the patent for which was acquired by the American General Electric. This company launched the “Monitor-Top” model in 1927. A million refrigerators of this model have been sold. In 1939, GE produced a model with a freezer.
The most popular refrigerator models in the world
The most popular refrigerator models in Russia are Zil, Minsk, Saratov. Some of these oldies from the 70s of the last century can still be found in working order somewhere in the country.
How refrigerators have changed during evolution
From the first bulky boxes that used poisonous gases in their work and weighed up to a hundred kilograms. Refrigerators have acquired elegant shapes, lost a lot of weight, and increased their usable volume.Modern models use environmentally friendly freon, which does not destroy the ozone layer and is completely safe for humans. Several cameras, powered by several compressors, with Internet access, equipped with a television display - this is a household refrigerator that continues to improve.
