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Of course, science must not imprison people in cages in order to experiment with m. That would be unethical. However, some researchers have found a trick to circumvent this hurdle: y simply wait until Homo sapiens locks mselves. One billion people do it every day: y drive an elevator. How do foreign people behave when y are in such a tight space? A case for sociology of elevators. The elevator is also a popular field of research in architecture, cultural studies and engineering. The physicists remain in ory for time being: y think about elevators in free fall and a lift into space.
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When people who do not know each or lift up toger, y mostly remain silent and look to ground or to wall. Why? In 1962, social psychologist Solomon Ash showed that re are group pressures among elevator users. He filmed people in lift with a hidden camera. Three to four actors joined unsuspecting test person and faced wall with his face. The camera pictures show how urge to do it to ors bewildered subjects: one man looked nervously at clock, anor lay down to ground. Most of m finally won herd-y turned to wall.
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In year 1999, sociologist Stefan Hirschauer published anor milestone of elevator research. “The practice of foreignness and minimization of presence” is called 24-page essay in Social World Journal. In elevator, strangers are close to each or for a short time. But hardly anyone tries to overcome anonymity. Instead, almost all of m first meet with civil inattention, which translates Hirschauer with “polite disregard”. The phenomenon is known from many everyday situations: one shows a well-dosed disinterest without being disobeyed. Eye contacts remain volatile, usually not spoken. This behavior is so in blood that it is not noticeable at all. In elevator however, polite non-observance only works limited. This is too close to each or. And since a ride often lasts longer than a few seconds, it is difficult to maintain disinterest – it appears increasingly played. The passengers feel exposed. This is why y stare at holes in air or fix display. “The averted gaze must deny physical proximity as a relationship sign”, writes Stefan Hirschauer.
The most recent contribution to sociology of elevators comes from cognitive scientist Rebekah Rousi. She observed that age, gender and occupation affect where people put mselves in lift and what y do. Older, successful men usually lean against elevator wall. Younger ones, however, are pushing mselves into middle. Women usually face door. They also prefer to look at floor while men fix floor display. However: Rousi researches in Australia’s Adelaide. Wher behavior depends on culture or is an anthropological constant must show furr work.
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Over centuries, technology of lift has changed dramatically. Roughly speaking, elevators have become more secure and faster. Even ancient Romans had an elevator system for people. But it took many centuries for elevators to be part of everyday life. Since Middle Ages, y have been used mainly in mining to transport workers to tunnels. Not seldom did rope tear, and men rushed to death.
The turnaround in matters of security came with a daring experiment: in front of many onlookers, Elisha Graves Otis 1853 was pulled up at New York World exhibition with an elevator platform until he hovered high above ir heads. Then mechanic ordered crowd to sever cable of platform with an axe. The platform fell down – but only for a few seconds. Abruptly she stopped, and Otis proclaimed proudly: “All safe, gentlemen, all safe.”
Otis had invented automatic fishing device. He built a spring horizontally over elevator platform. Tore rope, spring sprang outward, and tilted in guide rails. This technique was a breakthrough. In a few decades elevator spread throughout world. The Otis Elevator Company is now world market leader.
In addition to safety, advances in drive technology were crucial. From 1857 a steam engine moved passenger elevators. The machine pulled a rope that was attached to a drum. Disadvantage: The drum limited length of rope. These lifts did not reach high altitudes.
That changed with discovery of traction sheave. It comes from mining: 1877, engineer Carl Friedrich Koepe came up with idea of attaching a disc over a mine shaft and laying rope on it. Weights on both ropes stopped and moved elevator, which from now on could overcome great heights.
