15. Refrigeration, the only practical way to chill
If there was to be a single feature of modern life that makes modern life possible, then it is industrial food production. Fertilization, pesticidation, mechanization and irrigation all combine to make possible food production on a level sustainable for our current population. However, perhaps more important still is food distribution, and without refrigeration, that would just not be possible.
Refrigeration is also one of those minor revolutions that would never have been possible without electrification. Again, many different threads of research came together to create the first working refrigeration unit, and surprise, surprise, one of the earliest contributors was Benjamin Franklin. Initially, however, experiments involved chemistry and the rapid evaporation of volatile liquids, but although fascinating, the devices had no practical application.
In the 1820s, Michael Faraday’s name pops up again, this time in manipulating liquefied ammonia and other gasses. Directly from this came the first closed-cycle, vapor compression refrigeration system in the world, patented by British mechanical engineer Jacob Perkins. A prototype was built, but commercial success eluded the inventor. The system, however, was developed by others, and the first functional, practical system was patented and manufactured in Australia by British journalist James Harrison. By the 1880s, refrigeration units were installed in ships, and for the first time, Australian beef arrived on British grocery shelves.
