While standing on a foggy railroad platform in Pittsburgh in late 1902, Willis Carrier had a revelation that would lead to the invention of the modern air conditioner. Carrier’s device evolved from candy-factory chiller to the heat- and humidity-busting personal cooling units now found in more than 80 percent of United States homes.
In July 1902, the 25-year-old engineer had finished designing the first modern air-conditioning system for a Brooklyn, NY, printing press that wanted to prevent its paper from warping. Unlike previous cooling systems, Carrier’s device regulated humidity in addition to temperature. But Carrier wasn’t satisfied with this first system; he felt that it needed more exact controls. On that cold, foggy platform a few months later, Carrier recognized that the lower the temperature, the less water the air could hold. He reasoned that he could raise or lower a room’s humidity by using a device that passed air through a hot- or cold-water sprayer.
This idea grew into a series of formulas for regulating air temperature and humidity-the basis of important calculations that still serve the air-conditioning industry. Carrier’s installations soon be-came a hit with candy factories, celluloid-film makers, and breweries. However, during World War I, Carrier’s parent company decided to cut back on his research funding. Undeterred, Carrier and six coworkers created an independent company, Carrier Engineering.
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