Timeline of United States inventions (1890–1945)
Air conditioning is the cooling and de-humidification of indoor air for thermal comfort. Using a system of coils as a solution to cool and remove moisture from muggy air in a printing plant that was wrinkling magazine pages, Willis Carrier invented and manufactured the world's first mechanical air conditioning unit in 1902. Carrier's invention – encompassing the first system to provide man-made control over temperature, humidity, ventilation and air quality, was first installed as a solution to the quality problems experienced at a Brooklyn printing plant, Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company. Air conditioning not only spawned a company and an industry, but also brought about profound economic, social and cultural changes.
Rider-Ericsson Engine Company
In his patent of 1759, Henry Wood was the first to document the powering an engine by the changing volume of air as it changed temperature. George Cayley was the first to build a working model in 1807. The Reverend Robert Stirling is generally credited with the "invention" of the hot air engine in 1816 for his development of a "regenerator" which conserves heat energy as the air moves between the hot and cold sides of the engine. Technically, not all hot air engines utilize regenerators, but the term hot air engine and Stirling engine are sometimes used interchangeably.