A Little History On Aerosol Cans
Posted by smculp on November 13, 2008
In 1931, Norwegian engineer Eric Rotheim created the first design of the aerosol can. The U.S. military in WWII used the cans to dispense insecticide. The basic idea behind the aerosol can is that a fluid is stored under high pressure and then used to propel another fluid out of the can. Until the 1980s, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were used in many aerosol cans. CFCs were proven to be extremely harmful to the ozone layer, and in the Montreal Protocol of 1989, seventy countries agreed to phase out CFC use over the next decade. Since then, their use in aerosol cans has decreased substantially.
Inside the aerosol can, there are two fluids: one that boils below room temperature, the propellant, and one that boils at a higher temperature, the product. There are two systems of aerosol cans: the compressed-gas system and the liquefied gas system. Check out How Stuff Works to find out more information on aerosol cans.
