The "Running" Refrigerator (Draft)

Here is my Individual Topical Review Paper (Draft)

The “Running” Refrigerator

Executive Summary à will be revised after review

The review paper will focus on both the refrigerator and the refrigeration process. The refrigerator is defined as a kitchen appliance that is used for the storage of the food. In contrast, refrigeration is known as the process of cooling a space or substance below environmental or room temperature (The Impact of Refrigeration). The emphasis of this paper will be placed on the influence of refrigerators and refrigeration on our society as well as possible future inventions that could improve or replace refrigerators.

The paper will focus on how the fridge has established itself as a revolutionary piece of technology. A revolutionary technology is one that has caused great change in a sudden manner. The opposite would be an evolutionary technology, which is one that progressively improves over time. Thus, an in depth analysis will be made of the influence of the refrigerator in our society.

Introduction

A good hostess will always ask what one would like for dessert, “Ice cream? Fresh fruits? Anyone for cheesecake?” The words tend to just flow out of the hostess’ mouth, as everything is readily available in the common kitchen appliance, the fridge. Through this example it is easy to see the need and want that has been placed on this essential appliance.

Try to imagine a life where one could not have ice cream year round, fresh fruits last only for a short while, meat has to be eaten soon after being cut and a visit to the supermarket is essential everyday. It is difficult. However, this was life around 150 years ago where food was not stored in what we now call a refrigerator. The luxuries we have now were non-existent back then. What was tedious to obtain back then is now taken for granted.

The refrigerator is an appliance that has become essential to nearly everyone’s daily lives. An appliance that is present in most houses in our world. It works to keep food healthy and edible for long periods of time. It was revolutionary in its time as it replaced poor methods of storage. It is considered to be a feature that is irreplaceable in the kitchen and continues to improve as time progresses. When it was introduced people slowly jumped on the ban wagon and were able to store their food. In terms of social affects, it allowed life to be easier as now one does not have to go to the store everyday to buy fresh food.

Comparably, refrigeration is used in various places and without it life would not be as easy as it is now. Similar to the refrigerator it works to keep food products fresh for long periods of time. The difference between the refrigerator and refrigeration is that refrigeration refers to the process and so can apply to the cooling process in other places. This includes supermarkets where the refrigeration process is used for drinks, fruits, vegetables and meat. This, once again, influenced the amount and type of food that is available for people’s consumption.

In addition, it is important to note that the invention of the fridge and refrigeration had various impacts on the food industry allowing new companies to be developed as well as new products. When walking down the aisles of a supermarket one can see frozen French fries, peas, meals and even products like Sara Lee’s sticky date pudding. These could all be produced due to the introduction of refrigeration. Thus, refrigeration allowed several new companies to arise and, with it, a new life style for people.

Thus, both the fridge and the process of refrigeration have impacted our world and they continue to do so. However, some changes have to be made to both the refrigerator and refrigeration as

Historical Perspective

1. Before the Refrigerator: Icehouses and Lakes

Prior to the invention of the fridge, people stored foods in what was referred to as icehouses. Icehouses were houses that were built either underground or in buildings. They were generally located in areas that were considered naturally cool, like freshwater lakes. The icehouses would be packed and insulated with ice and snow so that they could facilitate the storage of meat, ice cream, sorbet and other perishable foods. These icehouses couldn’t be considered practical as, generally, people did not own there own but rather there were collective ones shared amongst many. Also, they did not store and keep foods fresh for long periods of time and they required plenty of labor year round.

Interestingly, the first known icehouse that was built was located in Syria and built by the ruler of the time in 1700 BC. The icehouse included the scripture “which never before had any king built”. This scripture reiterates the essentiality of the icehouse as a means of storage. It also indicates that people needed ways to store food and, so, this is one of the reasons for the introduction of the refrigerator.

Another means of storing food before the refrigerator was to use the lake itself. Cool places like lakes and wells were used to store milk and butter to keep them cool and staying fresh for a longer period of time. This was somewhat affective as it allowed the food to stay edible but it is important to note the increase of workload for the people. People of this time had less time to do other activities as receiving and maintaining foods took plenty of there time.

2. Before the Refrigerator: Effectiveness of Icehouses and Lakes

In addition, the storage of food through lakes and icehouses would often fail during the warm months of the year. During warm months, there would often be complaints about spoilt food as the ice can only stay so long and the lake would become warmer. The warmer countries of the world would experience this problem much more severely than others. This led to people learning of new methods to store and keep food edible. For example, meat could be preserved for longer by salting, spicing, smoking or drying. Thus, this led to more work for people and poor tasting meat.

Similarly, grocer stores would keep less meat because of the difficulty of storing and keeping the meat. Due to the lack of refrigeration the majority of foods stored were in fact dry foods. As a result, people would often have living animals (like chickens) in their houses that were bred for being eaten. Once again, this resulted in more work for people as time and energy was required for the breeding of these animals as well as the execution of them. All of these factors combined indicate that time and effort was put into acquiring and storing food. Thus, it can be said that in order to make life easier and invention would be necessary. This leads to the eventual creation of both the refrigerator and the refrigeration process.

3. Timeline Towards the Creation of the Refrigerator

Hence, to understand how the fridge was born a through analysis of the timeline of the creation of the refrigerator must be made. Throughout the years there have been many inventions leading up to what is now the fridge. William Cullen created the first fridge that was recognized in 1748. However, this fridge was merely a box shape that still did not employ the refrigeration process fully. It was not put on the market for consumer usage. The next fridge (1805) introduced was by Oliver Evans who has been nicknamed the “father of refrigeration”. He did not produce a fridge but rather introduced a refrigeration technique entitled vapor-compression refrigeration. In 1834, Evan’s technique was used by Jacob Perkins to produce the first functional refrigerator and he applied for a patent for his invention. Again, the fridge created by Perkins could not be used for consumers. Many others attempted improve Perkins model by attempting to introduce new factors to it.

In addition, the process of refrigeration was also improved, eventually, so that other gases were used than air. Air was used for the initial vapor-compression refrigeration but, soon, ammonia was used. Following Perkin’s model, Carl von Linde introduced the first fridge that was compact and could be used in households. As time progressed, the refrigeration process was replaced once again with methyl formate or sulfur dioxide and, finally, Freon. Freon was later banned because of environmental hazards. After the introduction of sulfur dioxide and methyl formate refrigeration more fridges were sold on a consumer basis (1920’s).

Refrigerators were, at first, primarily used in industries because of health concerns. Refrigerators were kept away from the consumer market for quite some time. Refrigerators only became commonly used in households in the 1930’s as by then they were deemed safe and people desired owning a refrigerator. Thus, after a somewhat long process, the refrigerator became a common household appliance.

In contrast, refrigeration continued to progress after the refrigerator has reached a stable point. In the 1950’s and 1960’s a process known as technology was introduced that could produce frozen foods. This eventually led to foods like frozen peas, French fries and other delicacies present in the freezer section of today’s supermarkets.

Thus, refrigeration and refrigerators were introduced in a revolutionary fashion. Once refrigerators were officially introduced in the consumer market they were sold in a quick fashion and affected the lives of people greatly. It allowed people to live more efficient lives with less worrying of where the food is coming from. People could have more time on there hands.

Current Situation

“Is your fridge running? Well, you better go catch it”. This common joke has been used much too many times. So, why include it? Because it does pose a relevant issue. In this day and age, what would one do without a running refrigerator? Call the mechanic would be the simple answer. However, the point is that nearly everyone in our society has some dependency on the refrigerator. Without the presence of a fridge in the kitchen many people would feel lost and unsure of where to store there groceries as nearly half of the purchased foods would require some sort of refrigeration.

1. Positives and Negatives of the Refrigerator

The essentiality of the refrigerator and refrigeration has been established and, so, to further analyze the current situation one must look at both sides of the coin; the positive and negative of using the refrigerator. The positive results of owning a refrigerator are somewhat obvious. They include being able to store foods for a long period of time as well as going to the supermarket only once a week. This allows for practicality and for individuals to focus less attention on the mundane. Another positive aspect to consider is the fact that now people can have foods that are native to cold countries in hot countries. Thus allowing for a greater variety of food year round and for more ability to have what one wants when they want.

On the other side, there are the negative aspects of owning a refrigerator that are somewhat less obvious. One of the major factors is that, similar to other products people use, refrigerators are a major environmental hazard as they consume plenty of energy and affect global warming. Though what must be considered is that refrigerators allow foods to take longer to rot and they occupy less space then icehouses. So is it justifiable? Also, there are brands like LG claiming that they have eco-friendly fridges that consume 20% less energy. Though it is probably true they do not give a comparison so the reality of how much energy is being consumed is somewhat left in the gray area. Another negative aspect is the fact that with the availability of more meat people tend to consume more meat. This results in more animals being bred for slaughtering and, so, contributes further to greenhouse gases in our environment (methane).

One of the major negative aspects of refrigeration is the production of frozen foods. Frozen foods are said to be somewhat less nutritious then the natural twin. Also, they are no longer limited to the standard French fries and peas but, rather, full TV dinners and cakes can be bought. The nutritious values of these foods are questionable as well as there fat content. This contributes to the growing population of obese and diet-wise unhealthy people in the world. Thus, it can be said that the affects of the refrigerator and refrigeration on our world is not exactly a positive one. Though there are significant positive affects it is important to note the negative affects as well.

2. Availability and Type of Refrigerator

Another aspect worth considering is the availability of refrigerators in our world. Refrigerators are readily available nearly everywhere and most houses come with a designated spot where the fridge is meant to be. Both these factors show that it is almost an expectation by society that one should own a fridge. They are also an economical investment as without them storing food would be near impossible and, not to mention, it is not too difficult to find cheaper brands. All of these factors lead to the assumption that one is expected to buy a fridge.

In addition, now there are many different types of fridges available. Refrigerators come in all types of different shapes and sizes making them unique to the individuals who own them. Consumers are able to pick from many different models and price ranges to find what suits them both economically and personally.

Future Considerations

So, through looking at the current situation various suggestions for the future can be drawn. The current situation is not perfect as it has it faults like global warming and unhealthy frozen food consumption. This means that there is room for improvement in the future.

1. Possible Solutions to Current Problems

One of the major problems that people are facing is the energy consumption of the refrigerator and there contribution to environmental problems. In order for this to be solved new refrigerator technology can be introduced where the fridge works in a full circle. This means that the energy consumed will be returned to the environment. There hasn’t been a refrigerator that has suggested this type of technology but in order to sustain our environment it is a possibility. Though it is important to realize that it is a somewhat farfetched idea. If the technology were there to be fully sustainable it would be in use by now. Another possibility would be a fridge run on solar energy where it could use half energy from the environment and half from the sun. This would result in a change of the refrigeration process where a two different sources of energy would be used. Again, a refrigerator like this has not been suggested by any legitimate source as of yet. A more practical solution to this problem would revolve around more initiatives being done that are similar to LG’s means of saving 20% of energy per refrigerator. LG has modified the refrigeration process to make it more sustainable.

An interesting environmentally friendly fridge that has been introduced is called the Mitticool. It is made of clay and has large water tanks as its cooling mechanism. The “fridge” can lower the temperature down by 8 degrees Celsius from the room temperature. Perhaps it is not practical for everyone but the idea is there and perhaps combined with future ideas it can help with the whole world’s plight of being more environmentally friendly.

The other major problem faced in the current situation revolves around the produce of refrigeration. There is little to nothing the refrigerator or refrigeration can do to counteract this problem. This is a result of industry and consumer need for practicality. The only means to stop this is through the consumer saying “no” to the product or the industry stopping the product all together.

2. A Possibility for a “Brighter” Fridge

In addition, there are other concepts of what the fridge of the future could be like. One source describes the future fridge as being one that can keep it’s own record of what products the owner still has and the items that have disappeared. As well as have features that could make a shopping list of the items needed and warn when an expiry date is approaching.

As a whole, there are many possibilities of the refrigerator of future as well as the refrigeration process of the future. It is difficult to consider all possibilities but the major ones are mentioned.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that refrigerators as well as the process of refrigeration have influenced people and there lives significantly. Both have allowed for a more practical ways of living, giving people more time to work and take care of other aspects in there lives. The invention has dramatically impacted our world and life without it is somewhat unimaginable. It has brought about a revolutionary change where there is no thinking of going back to the past.

Although it is important to consider the environmental factors it has to be said the practicality presented by the refrigerator outweighs most arguments against it. Thus, we can only hope that the refrigerator as well as the process of refrigeration will only improve as time passes by.

References à Will be done properly after draft

- http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blrefrigerator.htm

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerator

- http://www.history-magazine.com/refrig.html

- http://www.ammonia21.com/files/papers/trends-perspectives-supermarket-refrigeration.pdf

- http://uk.danfossuniverse.com/page2076.aspx

- http://www.furniturefashion.com/2010/10/17/fridge_of_the_future_keeps_food_in_cool_nanorobotic_bio-gel_of_the_future.html

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icehouse_(building)

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigeration#Home_and_consumer_use

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_low-temperature_technology

- http://history.librarypoint.org/early_ice_houses

- http://icehousestcyrus.co.uk/history-of-the-ice-house

- http://www.ecofriend.com/entry/mitticool-the-most-eco-friendly-refrigerator-ever-made/

- http://www.homedepot.ca/product/20-cu-ft-bottom-mount-refrigerator-white/905533