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Economic Multipliers (117)
Do you know what these are?
They help CREATE wealth in systems.
Understanding a simple concept about cooling could be an economic multiplier for the world (Example 2).
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Innovation evolves from ideas and ideas are worth nothing without innovators.
In Example 1 (Economic Multipliers (116)), I noted that ordinary table salt (NaCl) can steal heat. Many other compounds have the same capability and many are much more efficient at doing so.
Efficiency isn’t the only criteria when evaluating practicality related to innovation: Ease of access, affordability and the sustainability of supplies also factor in.
What if it were possible to take one concept (salt stealing heat to create ‘coolth’), add another concept and end up with even more ‘coolth.’
Evaporation also steals heat:
The relative humidity must be low enough that sufficient evaporation occurs,
an evaporative fluid must be readily available (for human beings when they are hot, the body provides sweat), and
if you want to retain the ‘coolth,’ you need to think about how it could be stored.
Ancient civilizations took advantage of evaporative cooling for food and water by using porous pots and vessels. If you ever want to learn more about how they made their world more livable, search for:
pot-in-pot refrigerator
clay cooler
pot-in-pot cooler
zeer
botijo (a clay container for fluids)
A completely glazed botijo or pot is no longer porous. Since old things many times become decorative art for the newer generations, it’s worthwhile to understand how old things worked when they were used for work.
If I write an article about using evaporative cooling to extend the shelf life of food or keep fluids colder, I’m not expecting anyone to give up their refrigerator.
I just know that individuals who are innovative who want to pre-cool things, passively cool things or simply help give other people the opportunity and knowledge to do so have a much easier time doing so if they understand some rather simple concepts, know how the older generations and ancient civilizations used the concepts in the past and where they might start if they wanted to take the concepts even further … combining them with the knowledge and technology we currently use today.
The ‘refrigerated’ world has the opportunity to reduce energy use (which has many secondary benefits). The ‘unrefrigerated’ world has the opportunity to significantly improve their quality of life.
Many people think these worlds are far apart.
Anyone who has ever dealt with a power outage that affected the shelf life of food knows that they are not.
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P.S. In a ‘powered’ world, in the midst of a power outage, these are some ‘cold retention’ options:
emergency generators
coolers (even coolers within coolers)
packing materials (sawdust used to be used to pack ice)
refrigerated trucks / boxcars
You’ll note that all of these involve extra expense, greater inconvenience and for generators and other refrigeration systems, an alternative source of power. Likewise, lacking power and depending upon environmental conditions, coolers and packing materials only temporarily retain ‘coolth.’
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