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.
Paul Elbridge Wright
Wright was responsible for the development of the first thermoelectric air conditioner with a coefficient of performance of greater than two. He was responsible for the first fossil-fuel, silicon germanium thermoelectric generator. Under Wright's direction, a magnesium-mercuric oxide battery was developed which exhibited an energy density of watt-hours per pound. During this time, Wright was also instrumental in developing technology for weather and other satellites. Some inventions at ATL were less successful, such as the video disc player and the bulls-eye UPC scanner.