Westinghouse tantalum filament "mill" lamp
date: label: date made
content: ca 1908
name: label: maker
content: Westinghouse Electric Corporation
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Most incandescent lamps were designed for general use in homes and businesses. However, some required special features for use in particular locations. Westinghouse engineers designed this so-called mill lamp for use in factories and other areas subject to high levels of vibration. An intricate internal support structure absorbed vibrations and kept the filament intact for the life of the lamp. Lamps of this type were later sold as rough-service lamps. The filament itself is made from the element tantalum. Invented in 1902, tantalum filament lamps sold in the U.S. until about 1910 when tungsten lamps were introduced.
label: Description
content: Westinghouse tantalum filament "mill" lamp, circa 1908. Brass medium-screw base with skirt, two glass insulators. Two drawn tantalum filaments (in series) with 12 upper, 22 center, and 10 lower copper support hooks. Crimp connectors, Siemens seal, cotton insulator. Tipped straight-sided envelope. Westinghouse label on lamp reads: “Westinghouse Tantalum [inked 223] V 50 W, patent label in stem: “The manufacturer of this lamp is licensed under patent noted on other side.” “Mar-20-94 516,800 APR-16-95 537,493 APR-28-03 726,293 AND OTHERS H.P.5036”. Stamped on base-skirt: “-PA[T Nov. 08 1]904 [Nov. 22] 1904”. “T” inked on stem, “X22 50” on press, “222- [V?]” in base. Label on top is inked: “47D3 1”.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Electricity
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content: Energy & Power
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content: American Enterprise
label: Exhibition
content: American Enterprise
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2014.0058.05
label: accession number
content: 2014.0058
label: catalog number
content: 2014.0058.05
objectType: label: Object Name
content: light bulb
label: Object Name
content: incandescent lamp
label: Other Terms
content: incandescent lamp; Lighting Devices; Edison; Cage; Metal
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: glass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: tantalum (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: cotton (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: porcelain (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 7 in x 3 in; 17.78 cm x 7.62 cm