One day the old man told me about how they used to make ice before there were refrigerators. He told me about how metal blocks filled with fresh water would be dipped into a larger container of brine water that was cooled by a large machine. He went into detail about how pistons on the machine fired. He also taught me what brine water is...
...The pistons worked like this: a small amount of fuel would be injected into a small container or capillary within the engine. The piston, a metal cylinder, would slowly rise and compress the fuel until the pressure was great enough to create enough heat to ignite the fuel. The fuel would then explode and the piston would fire...Brine water is essentially salt water. It freezes at a much lower temperature than fresh water...
...The large containers filled with fresh water were then dropped in a larger container of brine water using a pulley system of some kind. The brine water was cooled to less than 32 degrees by the machine. The pistons would fire and run the machine. After some time, the fresh water became ice. The fresh ice in the container would be turned upside down and warm water would be poured over the top to allow the ice to slide out. This is how I learned about how ice used to be made and how fire can be used to make ice.
He also told me that the the bridge that crosses Apalachicola bay was named after John Gorrie, the man who invented the machine that created the ice. The John Gorrie bridge is one of the bridges that has always carried me to freedom. I don't have to explain what this bridge is to my family. They know the bridge very well. It has carried us all to freedom many times. If you weren't in my family and you were to ask about this bridge, I would have to tell you that it is made of fire and ice. I would have to tell you that it crosses the bay that is fed by the river where my granddaddy used to eat oysters and that I am very sure that he crossed it when he died.
...The pistons worked like this: a small amount of fuel would be injected into a small container or capillary within the engine. The piston, a metal cylinder, would slowly rise and compress the fuel until the pressure was great enough to create enough heat to ignite the fuel. The fuel would then explode and the piston would fire...Brine water is essentially salt water. It freezes at a much lower temperature than fresh water...
...The large containers filled with fresh water were then dropped in a larger container of brine water using a pulley system of some kind. The brine water was cooled to less than 32 degrees by the machine. The pistons would fire and run the machine. After some time, the fresh water became ice. The fresh ice in the container would be turned upside down and warm water would be poured over the top to allow the ice to slide out. This is how I learned about how ice used to be made and how fire can be used to make ice.
He also told me that the the bridge that crosses Apalachicola bay was named after John Gorrie, the man who invented the machine that created the ice. The John Gorrie bridge is one of the bridges that has always carried me to freedom. I don't have to explain what this bridge is to my family. They know the bridge very well. It has carried us all to freedom many times. If you weren't in my family and you were to ask about this bridge, I would have to tell you that it is made of fire and ice. I would have to tell you that it crosses the bay that is fed by the river where my granddaddy used to eat oysters and that I am very sure that he crossed it when he died.
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