Why was reliable mechanical cooling essential for large-scale automation in cold storage?
Answer
High operational costs and risks of maintaining deep-freeze without it required constant human intervention.
The transition from relying on natural ice to adopting mechanical refrigeration systems in the 19th century was a fundamental prerequisite for the feasibility of large-scale automation. Without the consistent, reliable cooling provided by mechanical systems, the inherent risks associated with maintaining deep-freeze environments—such as spoilage or equipment failure—along with the extremely high operational costs, would have necessitated continuous human oversight for safety checks and constant maintenance, thus undermining the economic advantages sought through automation.
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