The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1935-08-30

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have wrap, we put 1t on. But most
Of us don't carry wraps when the
| temperature is near the hundred mark.
Moreover, we have discarded every
article of clothing that our sense of
public decency will permit us to dis
card. We debate whether we should
| go out and get warm, but we remem-
| Der the unbearableness of the heat.
Eventually, though, we leave, and as
we reach the sidewalk, the hot air
makes us gasp for breath. We feel
suffocated; we become cold, clammy.
We may even have strong feeling Of
nausea. A few of us may collapse en-
tirely.
Obviously, this is over-refrigeration.
The purpose of air-conditioning is to
make us comfortable, and if we are I'M
comfortable when we go from the out
side hot air into the inside cooled air,
and acutely uncomfortable, almost to
the point of sickness, when we go
from the inside cooled air into the out
side hot air again, then something is
wrong.
The skin is the largest organ of the
body. If it were spread out on the
floor, it would be the size of rug seven
or eight feet square. When the outer
air is cooler than the body, the skin
tries to prevent heat loss by reducing
the amount of warm blood flowing
through this body covering layer.
/ L a., hOhu n
prevent loss of heat by this mechanism,
still excessive dissipation of heat is
avoided. But the skin loses heat and
acts as a radiator In spite of all that
the body can do. During cold weather
we lose two-thirds of the heat value of
food through our skins. Sixty-fiye cents
Of every dollar we spend for food is
used to heat the air in which we live.
On the other hand, in the summer the
skin acts like refrigerator. We Sc
crete water into the outside skin and
the evaporation of this water cools US.
When you go from the street to an
artificially cooled room during warm
summer day, your skin has to change
in moments time from a refrigerator
to radiator. On the street your skin
is working to keep your inside organs
from getting too hot, for when the
temperature of the air is above nor
NAL body temperature, the skin works
hard to keep the body from being heat
ed up to the air temperature.
The only health problem in artifici
ally cooled theaters, restaurants, office
buildings and homes is the difference
in temperature and comfort between
the outside and the inside air. There
are several separate points to be con-
sidered. The sense of comfort Is the
desirable end point. This is COM
bination of three factors; namely, tenn
perature, humidity and air movement.
When the air is saturated with mOis-
ture, it feels hotter than air of the
same temperature with lower humidity.
Some recent work tends to show that
there should not be more than 10 de-
grees difference in temperature of the
air inside artificially cooled rooms as
compared to the outside air. But there
should be 40 per cent less moisture in
the air in the refrigerated rooms.
There should be some air movement,
but not a draft or wind, sufficient to
keep still air pockets forming around
people sitting in these rooms. The great
est factor, however, according to these
Investigators, is in the humidity of the
air.
Some restaurants and theaters main-
tain 20 to 30 degree Fahrenheit diff
ference in temperature between inside
and outside air. Upon entering such
a room-maintained at, say TO- F.
from a street temperature Of 1902 to
1867 f., one feels a sense of GOODNESS
and well-being. Then adjustment Of
the body to the temperature takes
place, and this sense of well-being dis
appears Return to the street after
an hours sojourn is like stepping from
northern Canada to southern Louisi-
ana in one step. The skin tries to
make this rapid adjustment as best 1t
can. This is sometimes hard to do
quickly.
The internal temperature rises in
spite of all the skins valiant attempt
to change itself instantaneously from a
radiator to refrigerator. That is why
dizziness, nausea and even collapse may
accompany this rapid change from
November to July day.
We do not know enough about air.
conditioning of rooms In the summer
time to make rules as yet We have
had many years of experience with
heating rooms during the winter time.
We need research and study upon the
question of summer air-conditioning of
offices, homes, theaters, restaurants
and such places. The necessary equip
ment is expensive and special rooms
must be constructed. The differences
in temperature, humidity and wind
movements must be examined. Normal
healthy people of various ages and sex
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