Account of the Skerryvore lighthouse : $b with notes on the illumination of lighthousesStevenson, Alan
History
Account of the Skerryvore lighthouse : $b with notes on the illumination of lighthouses
Stevenson, Alan
Skerryvore Lighthouse (Hebrides, Scotland)
[37] The Drummond light is produced by the ignition or combustion of
a ball of lime (³⁄₈ inch diameter) in the united flames of hydrogen
and oxygen gases, and is equal to about 264 flames of an ordinary
Argand Lamp with the best Spermaceti oil. It derives its name from
the late LIEUT. DRUMMOND, R. E., who first applied it in the focus of
a paraboloïd for geodetical purposes, and afterwards proposed it for
Lighthouses. (See his Account of the Light in the Phil. Trans. for
1826, p. 324, and for 1830, p. 383.) The Voltaic light is obtained
by passing a stream of Voltaic electricity from a powerful battery
between two _charcoal points_, the distance between which requires
great nicety of adjustment, and is the chief circumstance which
influences the stability and the permanency of the light. The Voltaic
light greatly exceeds the Drummond light in intensity, as ascertained
by actual comparison of their effects; but the ratio of their power
has not been accurately determined. It was first exhibited in the
focus of a reflector by Mr JAMES GARDNER, formerly engaged in the
Ordnance Survey of Great Britain.
~Mr Gurney’s Lamp.~
In 1835, Mr GURNEY proposed the combination of a current of oxygen with
the flame of oil, in order to obtain a powerful light of sufficient
size to produce the divergence required for the illumination of
lighthouses. The Trinity-House of London entertained the proposal,
and made some experiments on this important subject; but the plan was
finally rejected as disadvantageous in practice.
~Argand Burners.~
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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