Chapter I

Introduction

1.1 History of light sources

From the earliest of times right up until the nineteenth century, the
production of artificial light almost invariably involved the use of flames.
Some of the major problems encountered with naked flame light sources
were:

the method of production of the flame;

the means of keeping the flame burning for long periods without the
need for constant attention;
the attendant fire hazard problems.

Surprisingly, even in the middle of the twentieth century, a large propor-

tion of the population of the world were still using flames as the princi-
pal light source in the home.
In order to produce light by heat, forms of combustion are necessary.
Such methods of combustion used over the years have ranged from
primitive forms of flame torches and candles (wax and tallow) to oil
lamps and gas mantles. From the Middle Ages through to the nineteenth
century, domestic lighting often incorporated rushlights These were
made by stripping a rush stem of its very thin rind which was then
repeatedly immersed into a hot fat until a suitable thickness was
achieved. Up until about the sixteenth century, candles rarely found a
use in domesticity, except the houses of the affluent, and were used
predominantly for religious purposes. Candles still play an extremely
important role in church tradition: February 2nd is Candlemas Day. This
festival celebrates the presentation of the infant Jesus by Mary in the
Temple at Jerusalem. There she met Simeon who recognized Jesus as a
'light to lighten the gentiles' (St Luke 2.32).
One early form of lighting frequently used for the lighting of theatres
involved the use of burning quicklime until it reached incandescence and
emitted visible radiation. This method of lighting led to the often used
2 Lighting for Health and Safety

phrase 'in the limelight'. This form of light production was, however,
not without its problems, including that of fire.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries artificial lighting went
through a period of tremendous excitement. The burning of gas obtained
from heated coal paved the way for a new form of lighting and in 1792
William Murdoch installed gas piping and jets in his property in Cornwall.
In 1827 the friction match was invented; prior to this time tinder boxes
containing flints, steel and wood splinters tipped in sulphur were used in
order to start a flame. In 1860 mineral oil was turned into paraffin which
was used for lamps and for the manufacture of wax candles.
In 1885 Count Aver von Welsbach began investigating the character-
istics exhibited by rare earths when they were heated. In 1893 he devel-
oped the incandescent mantle where the production of light is not
dependent upon the luminosity of the flame produced but upon the level
of incandescence to which the mantle is raised.
There were major problems associated with the use of gas for light-
ing. It was both poisonous and explosive and incidents involving leaks
and other malfunctions often led to catastrophic consequences.
In an attempt to provide other means of artificial lighting, there had
been some experimental work with the use of electricity. In 1810, and
whilst gas lighting was still the dominant source, Sir Humphrey Davy
had shown that an arc could be established following the separation of
two touching carbon rods which formed part of an electrical circuit. The
arc lamp was not established in widespread use, however, until the
1850s. The quantity of light produced by the arc coupled with the
requirement for a suitable electrical supply precluded its use in domes-
tic installations. It was used predominantly for public lighting, building
lighting and in lighthouses. As with the earlier light sources which were
totally dependent upon the production of flames, arc lighting was messy
to maintain.
Michael Faraday's discovery of the principles of electromagnetism in
1831 paved the way for electric lighting in its present form. The first
practical electric lamp was the incandescent filament lamp produced
almost in parallel in 1879 by Swan in the United Kingdom and Edison
in the United States. The first domestic electric lighting system using
filament lamps was installed in 1880 by Lord Armstrong in Northum-
berland, the lamps being supplied by a water-driven dynamo.
The production of artificial light by electrical discharges was achieved
almost by accident since the early scientists were primarily concerned
with the manner in which electricity was conducted through a partial
vacuum.
Peter Cooper-Hewitt introduced his mercury-arc lamp in 1901. The
mercury was contained in a sealed discharge tube and in order to start
the discharge, the lamp had to be manually tilted so that the mercury
would fall down to the lower electrode and the arc would establish.
Early attempts at commercial discharge lighting met with limited
success and it was not until the early 1930s that lamps were produced
which found universal approval, these being based upon the use of
sodium and mercury. By the late 1930s fluorescent lamps were being
produced.
 introduction 3

Improved technology has allowed major advances to be made in lamp

production, for example high pressure sodium lamps with their greatly
increased colour rendering properties have been developed. The metal
halide lamp, a progression from the basic high pressure mercury vapour
lamp, has also been introduced.
An innovation in lamp technology is the electrodeless or induction
lamp which relies upon both magnetic principles and fluorescence for
the generation of artificial light.
What of the future? Scientists may well consider that attempts to
increase the luminous efficiency of those lamps presently available
should be investigated. Alternatively, lamps dependent upon the use of
elements other than mercury and sodium may be further developed and
become commercially viable.