PRODUCING COLD BY THE. EVAPORATION OF VOLATILE LIQUIDS IN VACUO, THE CONDENSATION OF THEIR VAPOURS BY PRESSURE, AND THE CONTINUED MATERIALS." RE-EVAPORATION AND RE-CONDENSATION OF THE SAME
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Harrison, of Geelong, in the Colony of
Victoria, Gentleman, Member of the Legislative Council of Victoria,
for the Invention of "PRODUCING COLD BY THE. EVAPORATION OF VOLATILE
LIQUIDS IN VACUO, THE CONDENSATION OF THEIR VAPOURS BY PRESSURE,
AND THE CONTINUED
MATERIALS."
RE-EVAPORATION AND RE-CONDENSATION OF THE SAME
Sealed the 23rd September 1856, and dated the 28th March 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Harrison at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th
March 1856.
I, JAMES HARRISON, of Geelong, in the Colony of Victoria, Gentleman,
Member of the Legislative Council of Victoria, do hereby declare the nature
of the Invention for "PRODUCING COLD BY THE EVAPORATION OF VOLATILE LIQUIDS
IN VACUO, THE CONDENSATION OF THEIR VAPOURS BY PRESSURE, AND THE CONTINUED
RE-EVAPORATION AND RE-CONDENSATION OF THE SAME MATERIALS," to be as
follows:-
To employ an air-tight apparatus of three vessels connected by tubes a
vacuum is to be established throughout the apparatus, the air being expelled
by the vapour of ether, alcohol, liquid ammonia, or other volatile liquid. The

page_text: first vessel is to be then charged with the liquid. The second vessel is to
contain a pumping and compressing apparatus, whereby the vapour is to be
withdrawn from the first vessel and forced into a third. This third vessel is to
be immersed in water or kept moist, so that the heat generated by the com-
pression and liquefaction of the vapour may be carried off. The resulting
liquid is to be allowed to pass into the first vessel, where it is again to be
evaporated under diminished pressure, and again withdrawn, compressed,
liquified, and returned, the process being capable of indefinite prolongation
until the apparatus be injured or worn out.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Harrison, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th September 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
HARRISON, of Geelong;-in the Colony of. Victoria, Gentleman, Member of the
Legislative Council of Victoria, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Harrison, Her special licence that I, the said James Harrison,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Harrison, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "PRODUCING COLD BY THE EVA-
PORATION OF VOLATILE LIQUIDS IN VACUO, THE CONDENSATION OF THEIR VAPOURS
BY PRESSURE, AND THE CONTINUED. RE-EVAPORATION AND RE-CONDENSATION OF THE
SAME MATERIALS;"" upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James
Harrison, my executors..or administrators, by an instrument in writing.under
my, or their, or one of..their hands and seals, should particularly.. describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner-the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed, in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six. calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Harrison, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
The nature of my Invention consists. in producing cold by the evaporation
of a liquid in one vessel, the withdrawal of the vapor formed, and the getting
rid of the heat thus withdrawn by the condensation of the vapor in another
vessel, such condensation being effected by pressure, and the heat given out
during such condensation removed by the vessel being surrounded by water,
the condensed liquid being again available for evaporation; the whole pro-
cess being conducted in vacuo, that is to say, the liquid and vapor being
isolated from the pressure of the atmosphere. The evaporating vessel may be
of tinned copper, or any air-tight and water-tight material of good heat-con-
ducting power, capable of resisting the atmospheric pressure, and not acted
upon by the substances in contact with it, and of any shape, provided there bo
a sufficient surface of contact respectively to the liquid to be evaporated and
the substance to be cooled. In like manner the condensing vessel may be of
any material and shape, the requisites of strength, conduction of heat, resist-
ance to chemical action, and sufficient surface, being attended to.
The apparatus whereby the vapor is to be withdrawn from one vessel and
forced into the other may consist of a double-acting air pump, as shown in the
Drawing; a double-acting pump with a piston of a half drum or gasometer
shape working freely in an annular space filled with mercury; a blowing fan
enclosed in an air-tight vessel, or a series of blowing fans; or the vapor may
be forced under a head of mercury, and delivered on the other side of a par-
tition, where the mercury is kept at a lower level by the increased tension of the
compressed vapor, by means of a diving bell, a reversed archimedean screw,
that is to say, a screw in which the spiral turns in the opposite direction to
that in which it would raise water, so that it scoops in and carries down the
vapor and delivers it behind the partition; or by a reversed overshot wheel; or
generally the vapor may be depressed by reversing any of the ordinary means
whereby liquids are raised.
As this my Invention is applicable to the production of various degrees of
cold by the evaporation of any volatile liquid, it is impossible to specify the.
dimensions of the various parts of the apparatus suitable for the endless
variety of conditions under which it may be worked. I consider it sufficient
to supply such data for the calculation of dimensions as may be a guide to
persons conversant with the leading principles of heat, and the chemical and
mechanical properties of the substances made use of or operated upon.

page_text: The requisite surface of the evaporating vessel may be deduced from the
ascertained fact, that a surface of 10 square feet will evaporate fully 1 lb.
water per minute, with a difference of temperature of 30°; with a less
difference a proportionately larger surface will be required. The latent heat
of other liquids being less than that of water, a less surface, will suffice for
their evaporation. For instance, the latent heat of ether at, say 24°, is to
that of steam at 212° as 200 to 1000, nearly, therefore only one-fifth of the
surface, or one-fifth of the difference of temperature, will suffice for the evapo-
ration of ether. The same rule will apply to the condensing vessel; but as
no loss except of space can accrue from having the vessels much larger than is
by calculation necessary, it will be well to make them of ample capacity and
surface.
The method of ascertaining the dimensions of a pump to withdraw and
compress a given quantity of vapor in a given time and at given temperatures,
and of the power required to work such pump (in addition to the loss accruing
from friction and the power required to overcome the weight of the valves,
&c.), may be illustrated by the following calculations for an ether-evaporating
apparatus: It has been ascertained by experiment that 100 cubic inches of
air weigh 31 grains, so that one pound of air occupies 22,580 6 cubic inches.
The vapor of ether at 96° is of specific gravity 2.56, so that one pound of it
occupies 8,820.55 cubic inches. The force or tension of ether vapor at (say)
24°, is equal to 4.8 inches of mercury, and as the specific gravity is propor-
tional to the tension, one pound of vapor will occupy 55,125 cubic inches.
But a condensation takes place on account of the lowness of the temperature
amounting to of the volume at 32° for each degree. Corrected by this
amount, one.pound of ether vapor at 24° occupies 47,935 cubic inches. To
withdraw and condense this quantity per minute, a pump of, say, 500 cubic
inches capacity, making 48 strokes, would be required. The power required to
work such a pump is the difference of tension between the vapour at the tem-
perature of evaporation and its tension at the temperature of condensation ;
thus, the tension of ether vapor at, say, 24°, being equivalent to 4-8 inches
of mercury, and its tension at, say, 74°, being equivalent to 16.1 inches, the
power required to raise vapor at the former and condense it at the latter
temperature will require to be sufficient to overcome a tension equal to 11.3
inches of mercury. As, however, the vapor of ether under a pressure of
16.1 inches occupies only :36 of its volume at 24°, the full power will not be
required until the vapour has acquired the full density, and only one-half of the
power will be required to reduce the volume of vapor at 24° to its volume
at 74°. The power therefore required to raise one pound of ether at 24°

page_text: and condense it at 74° is equal to the compression of 15,520 cubic inches
(the bulk of the vapor at 74°), +47835-15550=31,722.5 cubic inches, with a
weight of 11.3 inches of mercury, or about 5-7 lbs. per square inch.
Having thus described generally the nature and mode of operation of my
Invention, I now proceed to describe minutely the machine which I have had
constructed for producing cold, in the manner set forth in the title of my
evaporating vessel of tinned copper; B, a cistern for containing the water or
other substance to be cooled or frozen; C, a double-action pump, consisting of
a cylinder a, of gun metal, with vapor passages b, b; c, a leather piston; d,d,
valves for the admission of vapour from A; e, e, valves for the egress of com-
pressed vapor; D, a spherical copper condensing vessel; E, a cistern, to be
kept replenished with water, for the purpose of absorbing and removing the
heat evolved by the condensation of vapor in D; F, a copper vessel for
receiving the condensed liquid, fitted with a float valve f, which will open when
a depth of fluid accumulates in the vessel sufficient to raise the weight of the
valve, as well as to overcome the pressure of vapor above the liquid. The
valve being opened, the fluid will pass through the pipe g to the head of the
evaporating vessel A, and be delivered upon a spiral shelf h, or strip of copper
fastened round the inside of the cone, but only partially in contact with the side,
so that the liquid will not only flow round the spiral, but ooze through and
trickle downward, and thus keep the interior of the cone continually moistene:]
with the liquid to be evaporated. This effect is found to be produced by having
the edges of the spiral left rough; these edges are placed in contact with the
cone, and fastened by solder at such convenient intervals as will ensure stability.
The liquid which reaches the bottom of the cone falls successively over the frets
or barriers i, i, which are so placed as to keep the greater portion of the bottom
covered with the surplus fluid. is a stop-cock for shutting off communication
between the two parts of the apparatus; 1 is a screw for raising the float valve
f when it is found desirable to open the communication between the two parts
of the machine, as in creating the primary vacuum; G is a small single-acting
pump, for obtaining the vacuum required at starting, and for restoring and
maintaining a vacuum in the apparatus in case a leak should exist in any part
communicating with the air; a condensing worm m is attached to the egress
pipe of this pump, with the view of saving whatever portion of ether should be
expelled during its action. nand o are pressure guages; n is a barometer

page_text: tube standing in an open cup of mercury; o is a double tube, filled to a height
of fifteen inches with mercury, one leg being open to the air, so that either
rarefaction or excess of pressure may be indicated. The apparatus is set in
action by working the pumps, so as to produce a vacuum throughout the series
of vessels.
The stop-cocks k, p, and q being shut, the valve f raised by the
screw and the tap r opened, the pump C withdraws the air from the whole
of the vessels and tubes, except that portion of the passage between the egress
valves e, e, and the stop-cock k. A good vacuum having been thus obtained,
the tap r is shut, a pound of ether is poured carefully through the funnel s, the
stop-cock k is opened, the small pump G is then set to work, the stop-cock p
is opened, and the remaining air mixed with ether vapor is expelled through
the worm m. Before the vacuum is completed, the large pump C should be
worked for a few strokes, so as to expel any air that may remain about the
valves and passages.
After a short time the vapor withdrawn by the pump G
will be almost pure ether, and when the pressure guages show that a good
vacuum has been obtained there will remain throughout the apparatus an
exceedingly rarefied atmosphere of ether vapor. The apparatus will then bo
ready to be fed with the ether intended for constant use; this must be pure
rectified sulphuric ether, free from acidity. Shut the stop-cock p, open k,
disconnect the small pump G, then pour four pounds ether through the funnel
8, taking care that no air enters with it; lower the screw l, so that the valve f
may fall into its place; set the large pump C in operation. The vapor of ether
will then be continually pumped out of the vessel A and forced into the vessel
D, where it will become liquefied by the pressure; the liquified ether will pass
along the pipe t to the vessel F, and when a sufficient quantity has accu-
mulated there it will raise the valve f, and be forced up the pipe g into the vessel
A, to be again withdrawn, compressed, and liquified, so long as the apparatus
shall be kept at work sound and uninjured. The vapour formed in the vessel
A will acquire its latent heat from the surrounding water or substance to be
cooled or frozen in the cistern B. The vapor will give out its latent heat
during condensation in the vessel D, so that this vessel must be kept supplied
with water as cold as may be procurable where the apparatus is worked.
In the manufacture of ice, it will be found that the water in contact with the
cone will freeze long before the whole mass of water has been lowered to the
freezing point. This premature formation of ice should be prevented by agitation
of the water, but I do not consider it requisite to complicate the Drawings with
any detail of machinery for this purpose, there being many known methods of
effecting the object. As the cooling effect is produced primarily upon the water
in contact with the cone, the smaller the mass of water acted upon, the more

page_text: advantageous and decided will be the result. To reduce the mass, blocks of
wood or other non heat-conducting substance may be used to fill up the surplus
space in the cistern B, so that only an inch or a few inches of space around the
cone may be left for the reception of the water to be frozen, the' removal of
which blocks at the end of the operation will afford access for the removal of
the ice. The ice may be detached from the cone without violence by raising
the valve f, and thus allowing hot vapor to come over from the vessel D.
But for the manufacture of ice I prefer a vessel of either of the shapes shown
in Figure 2 or 3. A, Fig. 2, is a cylindrical vessel of tinned copper, with a
conical depression in the centre apex; down the liquid, ether circulates round
the cone, along the spiral h; the water to be frozen is contained in the hollow w,
which may be fitted with a central block of wood to diminish the quantity to
be operated upon, and to this block a revolving motion may be communicated
by any known means, so as to keep the water in motion until cooled down to
the freezing point. The cistern B contains water for the supply of the hollow w;
this water will undergo a preliminary cooling from the evaporation of the ether,
which reaches the bottom of the vessel A. A (Figures 3 and 4) is a vessel
of tinned copper, with long wedge-shaped depressions w, w, w, w, to be filled
with the water to be frozen; the freezing goes on from both surfaces of the
depression. The wedges of ice thus formed may be placed together so as to
form large blocks. The ice may be detached, as already described, by the
admission of hot vapor; or the water may be frozen in tinned copper moulds,
accurately fitting the depressions, and these may be removed and the ice turned
out at a temperature lower than would otherwise be obtainable.
Where the object is to lower the temperature of apartments, larders, wine
cellars, &c., the evaporating vessel is uncovered, and a separate room appro-
priated for the pump and condenser. With this arrangement of apparatus, the
double operations, of refrigerating and heating, may be carried on in different
apartments simultaneously.
Where the object is to form an extensive and permament surface of ice the
use of an evaporating vessel may be dispensed with, the liquified ether being
allowed to flow through a coil of pipe, and to be evaporated during its passage
through the coil.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the arrangement of apparatus described; but what I claim is, the use
of volatile liquids (including water) evaporated in vacuo, and reduced to the
liquid form in a separate vessel by pressure, for the production of cold, and in

page_text: the manufacture of ice, and generally in all processes where refrigeration is
requisite or desirable.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Harrison, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
AR. CARPMAEL.
JAMES HARRISON. (L.s.)