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Lighting ➔ Lamp
Identifier:
130405Description:
Carbide automobile lamp. When calcium carbide and water react with one another, acetylene gas is produced. When this gas burns it produces a bright white light. In 1900, Frederick Baldwin is credited with developing a lamp that could harness this chemical reaction as a commercial light. The earliest lamps consisted of two chambers, one containing the water, and one containing the lit carbide. A controlled drip of the water into the lower chamber could control the intensity of the reaction and the brightness of the light. The first use of carbide lamps was in coal mines. But it would come to be used for some of the earliest automobile lamps.;Source:
https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/mining-lights-and-hats/carbide-lamps
Date:
1896 – 1900Current Location Status:
In StorageCollection Tier:
Tier 2Source:
Gift Of Bettes, George W.;Bettes, Greta D.Related Entities:
Standard Cage Lamp Company (creator) George W. Bettes (donor)Alternate names: Geo. W. Bettes Greta D. Bettes (donor)
Alternate names: Mrs. Geo. W. Bettes