AID TO MANKIND

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20877, 1 September 1942, Page 5

AID TO MANKIND

refrigeration triumph talk toTkdtarians The story of refrigeration, was explained to the Gisborne Rotary Cub to-day by Mr. Frank Wise, who said that refrigeration was first practised by the ancient Egyptians, Romans and Venetians to cool wines. The medium used was snow transported from the mountains by slaves. Nero, Emperor of Rome, adopted this method as did also Alexander the Great, while an English Sovereign, Richard the Lionheart, when, lying seriously ill in a dungeon, was revived by a cool sherbet. . That the Chinese and other Eastern peoples knew Something of refrigeration was recorded by the famous explorer, Marco Polo. “Harvesting snow,” said Mr. Wise, “was a laborious and tedious job, and it is not surprising that scientists, engineers, and" inventors set about making artificial ice. This plan was first worked on in 1770, but it was not until a century later that it was fully developed for installation in ships to carry perishable foodstuffs.. Improved gases were utilised from time to time, and refrigerators were made smaller and smaller until they were suitable for installation in homes.” Mr. Wise said the fundamentals of refrigeration were easily understood and the first and most important was that heat always travelled to a colder body. Heat was really a form of energy. Secondly,. liquids always absorbed heat in .order to boil and water could not be made any hotter Jhan 212 degrees F.., The extra heat applied merely, evaporated the gases. Therefore, the definition of a refrigerant was a liquid with a comparatively low boiling-point, and one of the most recent gas discoveries was dichloro difleui-o Tnetharie or. ferfln, which had a boiling point Of -21 degrees. , The 'Speaker said that; refrigeration \yas a triumph of mankind over feature, something that was invented for the good of mankind and not for killing. A hearty vote of thanks, was extended to Mr. Wise. bp Mr. C. Hampton. Dr. J. K. H. Davies was in the chair.