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Article: Humphry Davy and the murder lamp: Max Adams investigates the truth behind the introduction of a key invention of the early Industrial Revolution.(FRONTLINE)
- Article from:
- History Today
- Article date:
- August 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 History Today Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE MINERS' SAFETY LAMP is an icon of the Industrial Revolution every bit as powerful as Stephenson's Rocket or the Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale. It's a beautiful thing: polished brass and glass cylinder, magnetic lock, and the little naphthalene flame lit by a flint and wheel. You can still buy one, because even today every pit deputy must carry one, despite the universal me of electricity for lighting collieries. The reason is that the safety lamp is first and foremost a methane detector; the colour and shape of the flame indicates how much methane or 'fire-damp' is present in the atmosphere. That some concentrations of firedamp are more deadly than others has been ...