
22-year British student invents a mobile fridge that could save many lives - denzil_correa
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/37306334/this-invention-by-a-british-student-could-save-millions-of-lives-across-the-world
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userbinator
_It works by heating ammonia and water to create ammonia vapours, which are
then released into its main chamber when cooling is needed._

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigerator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigerator)

This does not seem particularly novel, just a miniaturisation of a very old
type of refrigerator.

~~~
j_koreth
From the wikipedia link > At the 2007 TED Conference, Adam Grosser presented
his research of a new, very small, "intermittent absorption" vaccine
refrigeration unit for use in third world countries. The refrigerator is a
small unit placed over a campfire, that can later be used to cool 15 liters of
water to just above freezing for 24 hours in a 30 °C environment.

[http://www.ted.com/talks/adam_grosser_and_his_sustainable_fr...](http://www.ted.com/talks/adam_grosser_and_his_sustainable_fridge)

The person that from the Ted Talk linked to has a very similar device to the
one shown in the BBC Article and with the exact same goal to help transport
vaccines and similar through developing countries.

Congrats to the kid but something seems a bit suspicious...

~~~
maxerickson
I haven't watched the TED talk you link, so no idea if the water was needed
for that design, but I guess the difference could be in having a valve that
spends the cooling only as needed.

Having it be self contained is a big improvement over needing 15 kg water to
buffer the cold.

~~~
userbinator
_but I guess the difference could be in having a valve that spends the cooling
only as needed._

That's not novel either --- amusingly enough, I saw your comment only after
posting this link to someone else who actually made one of these units:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12471609](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12471609)

From that article:

 _Larry improved on the original design by adding a shut off valve in the
connecting tube so after the Icyball was fully charged it could be shut off
and the cooling cycle delayed till later, when you needed it._

~~~
maxerickson
Sure, a valve itself isn't any big deal. A good self regulating system makes
it a practical portable cooler though.

Time will tell.

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maxerickson
The project page on the Dyson Awards site manages to admit that it's based on
old technology that Einstein thought up:

[http://www.jamesdysonaward.org/projects/isobar/](http://www.jamesdysonaward.org/projects/isobar/)

I guess the proposed novelty is that it can be carried in a backpack and would
be designed specifically for cooling vaccines. My reading of it suggests that
there isn't much in the way of a practical model just yet (they show pictures
of a prototype, but I wonder how long it has sustained cooling).

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BetterThanYou
Nothing new about this. Only thing "new" is the attempt to virtue signal with
old technology. No, wait, that's not new either.

~~~
DenisM
"Virtue signal", huh. I didn't know this phenomenon has a name. Nice.

~~~
dogecoinbase
Be careful -- it's almost exclusively used by people attempting to do so
themselves.

~~~
digi_owl
Well all do so all the time, some more consciously than others. We are pack
animals after all.

Still a good term, and an activity i fear is overwhelming certain FOSS
projects these days.

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Dylan16807
So what's the new part? We have portable propane fridges. Is it cheaper? More
efficient?

~~~
mschuster91
Propane is extremely flammable and explosive. In addition, propane tanks and
(ambient) heat don't like to coexist... with this one, even when the ammonia
gets vented, at least it doesn't create a fire/explosion risk - and thus can
be transported by bush pilots!

~~~
kurthr
Well, I wouldn't say it doesn't produce an explosion risk:
[https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/chem_profiles/ammo...](https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/chem_profiles/ammonia.html)

Ammonia fertilizer tanks explode every year. It's not a flammable as propane,
and it works well for refrigeration, but it's also more toxic and corrosive...

~~~
userbinator
_Odour: Ammonia-like_

I suppose they couldn't find a better way of describing it, but ammonia does
have a pretty unique smell. The good thing about ammonia is that its smell is
repugnant and detectable at concentrations far below when it starts becoming
toxic that you'll be given plenty of warning.

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rascul
Doesn't look like it would hold many beers.

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tomohawk
Foolish not to get a patent or control the intellectual property. Without that
control, someone else will, possibly to the detriment of the intended purpose.

~~~
erispoe
If you publish, you effectively void the novelty condition of an invention and
prevent patentability.

~~~
oh_sigh
True, but manufacturers may be less than willing to tool up to produce them if
anyone can jump in on it and under cut them. He may have a higher purpose in
mind but almost certainly the manufacturer doesn't, and just wants to get
paid.

