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| Model of an air conditioner. |
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| Another view of model. |
My last post on Ice Mountain was about a place where an unusual geologic formation had created natural air conditioning on a hillside in West Virginia. In this week's post I wanted to show this really nifty model created by one of the young mechanical engineers I work at JMT, my new employer. Wafic Omran built this nifty contraption out of plastic trays and copper tubing for a career day at an elementary school in northern Virginia, to show kids how an air conditioner works. Many adults don't have an idea of the principles involved either, we just know that we'd be miserable without it during the summer, as mankind was for all the centuries before its invention.
Cool water is pumped from the lower tray up to the upper tray by an aquarium pump. As the water flows down through the copper pipes, a small fan aimed at the copper tubes cools the air as it passes between the pipes and as a result, the air temperature drops on the other side. A thermometer clipped to the plastic jar shows that the air has been cooled about 2 degrees with this simple apparatus. I couldn't resist showing this really cool demonstration of how an air conditioner works!
