this post was submitted on 02 May 2026
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Copper wires spinning around a magnet.
The issue isn't always knowing, it's the material science to support the technology. But copper wire has been around for a while.
"let's build a fridge"
"how do i get cyclopentane?"
Starts with nitrogen/nitrogen compounds, specifically ammonia. And there are even simpler ways.
Would it be possible to get it purified enough so the boiling point would be feasible to build a fridge?
This seems 18th century tech, lavoisier, etc.
I would watch someone try to build a fridge with only ancient world means of production.
Interestingly yes,^1^ and also, countries went to war for it. Specifically guano and urea (not so much for refrigeration, but for gunpowder). It would be entirely reasonable, with the right skill-set, to concentrate ammonia.
As far as incorporating it into a refrigeration cycle, its basically the same as any other refrigerant in that your going to need a compression loop and an expansion loop to move heat from place A to place B. But lead lined clay or wood pipes could probably meet this requirement^2^.
The earliest ammonia based refridgerators (freezers really) were used almost exclusively for generating ice, which was then sold and moved to other places for refrigeration. Ice like many other staples became a daily sundry like milk or eggs. You can still find many of these "ice houses" all over the world, since they're not even that old. The town I grew up in had a club called the Ice House which was literally an old ice factory.
1: Another reference to the guano wars: https://thebreakthrough.org/articles/remember-the-guano-wars
2: History of early ammonia refrigerators: https://www.ashrae.org/file%20library/technical%20resources/ashrae%20journal/125thanniversaryarticles/60-68_boyle_historical-article-excerpt.pdf
Well that’s not how electricity works. It’s how you can generate it, sure, but electricity exists everywhere.
Silicon exists everywhere. Making it into computer chips is something else.
Sure, but the question in the meme isn’t “how do you make electricity”…it’s “how does that ‘electricity’ work?”
You can make electricity with your hands rubbing on cloth, or with any number of other mechanisms that aren’t windings.
They aren't looking for an academic discussion. They want to see practical uses. I don't know why you're trying so hard to read it in a bizarre way.
They’re greek or Roman, they absolutely are looking for an academic discussion, wtf are you talking about. And I’m not reading into it in a bizarre way, it’s literally what’s in the meme.
Not like Romans were famous engineers that built things. JFC. Not like people in the past tried to improve things. Nope. You are reading it bizarrely. I'm gonna leave it at that.
You’re the one not reading it as written, sorry bud.
Hence the material science bit. Creating anything to make the electricity useful is the hard part.
Hydro power has been around for a long time but was used for direct mechanical work.
Electricity is an abstract layer above that and requires at least something like a light bulb to make any practical sense.
But the meme wasn’t asking how to make electricity! Like if they said that, sure, but they just asked how it worked.
What if the only copper you can get is sold by Ea-nāṣir?