von Platen
The House of Platen is a feudal noble family originally from Pomerania. The branch of Platen-Hallermund was a mediatized one and as such was part of the small circle of families that belonged to the High nobility in Germany.
History
The family's e ...
(24 February 1898 – 29 April 1984) was a Swedish engineer and inventor.
Biography
Baltzar von Platen born in
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...
, Sweden. He was the son of Philip Ludvig von Platen and Eva Hedvig Ingeborg Ehrenborg. He first studied mathematics, physics, and astronomy at
Lund University
, motto = Ad utrumque
, mottoeng = Prepared for both
, established =
, type = Public research university
, budget = SEK 9 billion Carl Munters (1897–1989), he was the inventor of the gas absorption refrigerator in 1922 while they were both
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
engineering students at the
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
The KTH Royal Institute of Technology ( sv, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, lit=Royal Institute of Technology), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technolog ...
in Stockholm, Sweden. The Platen-Munters design could operate without a pump. The technique produced "cold" from a heat source such as propane, electricity, or kerosene. In 1923, production by AB Arctic began. In 1925, AB Arctic was purchased by
Electrolux
Electrolux AB () is a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool.
Electrolux products sell under a variety ...
, which began selling them worldwide. In 1925, American manufacturer Servel purchased the rights to the Swedish patent for a continuous absorption refrigerator and started to focus on the gas refrigeration market. The company manufactured refrigerators and was the only U.S. manufacturer for many years.
Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters both received the Polhem Prize (''Polhemspriset'') awarded by Swedish Association of Graduate Engineers in 1925. Baltzar von Platen was awarded the
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...
John Price Wetherill Medal
The John Price Wetherill Medal was an award of the Franklin Institute. It was established with a bequest given by the family of John Price Wetherill (1844–1906) on April 3, 1917. On June 10, 1925, the Board of Managers voted to create a silver ...
in 1932. He was awarded the Adelsköld Medal (''Adelsköldska medaljen'') in gold from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences during 1940. Von Platen also worked with
ASEA
''Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget'' (English translation: General Swedish Electrical Limited Company; Swedish abbreviation: ASEA) was a Swedish industrial company.
History
ASEA was founded in 1883 by Ludvig Fredholm in Västerås a ...
, Sweden's major electrical company, on the development of a process which used heat and pressure to produce
diamond
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...
s. Von Platen left the project before it succeeded in producing the first synthetic diamonds in 1953.