Ferdinand Carré

French inventor

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June 24, 2026

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Ferdinand Carré was a French inventor who made significant contributions to refrigeration technology. In 1859, he developed a more complex vapor-compression refrigeration system than previous models. Unlike earlier machines that used air as a coolant, Carré's equipment utilized rapidly expanding ammonia. Ammonia's ability to liquefy at lower temperatures allowed his refrigerators to absorb more heat. Carré's designs were widely adopted and helped establish vapor-compression refrigeration as a dominant cooling method.1

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adsorption chiller
…mid-19th century, when French scientist Ferdinand Carré invented a similar system, known as absorption refrigeration, that used water and ammonia. Other designs followed, including one first patented in 1928 by German-born American physicist Albert Einstein and his former student, Hungarian-born American physicist Leo Szilard. Public acceptance of the Einstein-Szilard
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…mid-19th century, when French scientist Ferdinand Carré invented a similar system, known as absorption refrigeration, that used water and ammonia. Other designs followed, including one first patented in 1928 by German-born American physicist Albert Einstein and his former student, Hungarian-born American physicist Leo Szilard. Public acceptance of the Einstein-Szilard
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refrigeration
…complex system was developed by Ferdinand Carré of France in 1859. Unlike earlier vapour-compression machines, which used air as a coolant, Carré’s equipment contained rapidly expanding ammonia. (Ammonia liquefies at a much lower temperature than water and is thus able to absorb more heat.) Carré’s refrigerators were widely used, and…
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…complex system was developed by Ferdinand Carré of France in 1859. Unlike earlier vapour-compression machines, which used air as a coolant, Carré’s equipment contained rapidly expanding ammonia. (Ammonia liquefies at a much lower temperature than water and is thus able to absorb more heat.) Carré’s refrigerators were widely used, and…
Read More