![]() Domestic lighting with acetylene gas was introduced circa 1894 and bicycle lamps from 1896. In 1895, Willson sold his patent to Union Carbide. Manufacture of calcium carbide was an important part of the industrial revolution in chemistry, and was made possible in the United States as a result of massive amounts of inexpensive hydroelectric power produced at Niagara Falls before the turn of the twentieth century. The arc furnace provides the high temperature required to drive the reaction. In 1892, Thomas Willson discovered an economically efficient process for creating calcium carbide in an electric arc furnace from a mixture of lime and coke. Chemical reactions Ī French manufactured acetylene gas lamp, of circa 1910, mounted on a bicycle In cold caves, carbide lamp users can use this heat to help stave off hypothermia. The reaction of carbide with water is exothermic and produces a fair amount of heat independent of the flame. Many cavers prefer this type of unfocused light as it improves peripheral vision in the complete dark. An acetylene gas powered lamp produces a bright, broad light. This type of lamp generally has a reflector behind the flame to help project the light forward. This, in turn, controls the flow rate of the gas and the size of the flame at the burner, and thus the amount of light it produces. By controlling the rate of water flow, the production of acetylene gas is controlled. A threaded valve or other mechanism is used to control the rate at which the water is allowed to drip into the chamber containing the calcium carbide. The upper reservoir is then filled with water. Carbide acetylene gas generator, drip type (Autocar Handbook, Ninth edition)Ī mining or caving lamp has calcium carbide placed in a lower chamber, the generator.
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