Davy Safety Lamp
notes: label: Description
content: This Davy-style safety lamp was used by the Alden Coal Company during the early 20th century, and presented to Grant Wheat by the Alden Coal Company in 1920. The lamp is called a safety lamp because it can be used safely in the presence of flammable gas. The lamp has a domed metal top that bears the inscription “[AL]DEN COAL CO.” It is similar in style to the flame safety lamp developed by Sir Humphry Davy in 1815. Davy discovered that surrounding the flame with a fine wire gauze would cool the flame to such an extent that it could not ignite the flammable gas surrounding the lamp. This lamp was used by fire bosses (mine inspectors) to test whether there was flammable gas present in the mine well into the 20th century.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Mining
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content: Mining Lamps
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content: Work
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content: Industry & Manufacturing
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content: Grant Wheat Collection
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Pohs, Henry A.. Early Underground Lamps
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Mary R. Wheat
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AG.MHI-MN-8131
label: accession number
content: 239148
label: catalog number
content: MHI-MN-8131
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lamp, mining
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 8 1/2 in; 21.59 cm