Air conditioning has come a long way. One of its original uses was to cool down the air on hot summer days. The most primitive way of cooling yourself down was with a fan in the form of a broad leaf. Kings and Queens in hot climates would get servants to fan them with large broad leaves. In addition, ordinary people could cool themselves down by fanning themselves down with a hand fan.
An air conditioner basically modifies the condition of the air in a room. It can heat it up the air when it is cold or cool it down when it is hot. It is know that in Ancient Rome, aqueduct water was circulated through the wall of a house was a way of cooling it down. Those in medieval Persia used wind towers to cool down homes during hot times. As a way of warning up a room during cold days, people would light up a fire in the rooms around the house.
The invention of the air conditioner was connected with the invention of the refrigerator. Similar concepts of cooling down the air in a certain space where used when the inventors were trying to figure out how to create a clod environment for preserving food. These concepts were then extended to finding ways of cooling down a room with a machine.
In 1902, the first modern air conditioner was invented by an American inventor, William Carrier. He used the process of heating up objects through using steam and reversed this process. Instead of using hot coils, he used coils cooled down by cold water. This created cooler air that cooled down a building. Many improvements have been made over the last century and air conditioners have become more accessible to the general public. They are easier to use and can be installed on practically any building.
This invention was extended to vehicles. People could also now cool themselves down inside their cars as they can inside a building. Air conditioning is a great convenience that allows people the luxury of being able to control the environment they live in.