Otto von Guericke demonstrated the power of voids in 1663 by joining two copper hemispheres and creating a vacuum. Vacuum pumps were originally used for scientific study, but evolved into practical uses like manufacturing and vehicle amenities. There are two common types: compressed air and electromechanical. They are used in semiconductor processing, brake boosters, cruise control, and making vacuum tubes.
The German scientist Otto von Guericke was the first person to demonstrate the properties of voids in a practical way in the year 1663. In front of an interested but skeptical crowd he joined two small copper hemispheres (i.e. 20 inches (51 cm) in diameter) into an enclosed space. So he pumped the air out of that enclosure and organized a team of eight horses to try and separate the hemispheres. The horses could not separate them. Perhaps in a Ripley moment, he repeated the experiment that same year using a team of twenty-four horses harnessed together. These horses still couldn’t separate the hemispheres, due to the vacuum that had formed in the corral. Once the air was forced back into the container, the spheres were easily moved from one another. Thus the power of the void was realized.
The vacuum pump was originally invented to help chemists study the properties of gases and the newly discovered phenomenon called electricity. The vacuum is created by removing all the air from a sealed container. When a particular gas was introduced into the chamber, the scientists were able to study the properties of this gas without the effects of the air confusing things. From there it was a simple process to add an electric charge to the gas which would produce a current of energy that could be studied.
Although the vacuum pump was born in the arms of the scientific community, as the centuries passed and mankind evolved through the industrial age, it evolved to play a more practical role. In manufacturing, the vacuum pump is useful for moving products, powering machines and preventing them from damaging. There are two types of vacuum pumps in common use: the compressed air pump and the electromechanical pump. The compressed air pump, also called a generator, uses the principles enunciated by the well-known physicist Daniel Bernoulli, whereby compressed air forced through a nozzle creates a vacuum when it interacts with high pressure outside air.
The second type of vacuum pump is the electromechanical pump. The rotary vane model is a common example. This type of pump uses a rotating rotor and vanes that trap air and force it through the pump, creating a partial vacuum in its wake. Although very useful in less critical situations, these pumps require specific conditions to operate, as well as a source of electricity, as they usually have an electric motor.
In the 21st century the vacuum pump has evolved into a major necessity for the progressive lifestyle. Not only is the vacuum pump used in semiconductor processing, the amenities that come with most of today’s expensive vehicles, including brake boosters and cruise control, dump the horsepower created by a vacuum pump. Equally important, it is used to make the vacuum tubes that work in microwaves and the cathode ray tubes that still power old televisions.
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