Safety Lamp - Electric Lamps

Electric Lamps

It was not until tungsten filaments replaced carbon that a portable electric light became a reality. The British government offered a prize in 1912 which was won by a German engineer with the Ceag lamp, which was hand-held and delivered twice the illumination of oil lamps, with a battery life of 16 hours. In 1913, Thomas Edison won the Ratheman medal for inventing a lightweight storage battery that could be carried on the back, powering a parabolic reflector that could be mounted on the miner's helmet. After extensive testing, 70,000 robust designs were in use in the US by 1916, but acceptance took longer in Britain.

Nowadays, safety lamps are mainly electric, and traditionally mounted on miners' helmets (such as the wheat lamp) or the Oldham headlamp, sealed to prevent gas penetrating the casing and being ignited by electrical sparks.

Although its use as a light source was superseded by electric lighting, the flame safety lamp has continued to be used in mines to detect methane and blackdamp, although many modern mines now also use sophisticated electronic gas detectors for this purpose.

As a new light source, LED has many advantages for safety lamps, including longer burn time and less energy required. Combined with new battery technologies, such as the lithium battery, it gives much better performance in safety lamp applications. It is replacing conventional safety lamps.