Gas lighting
[5][additional citation(s) needed] The ancient Chinese of the Spring and Autumn period made the first practical use of natural gas for lighting purposes around 500 B.C.
In 1417, Sir Henry Barton, Lord Mayor of London, ordained "Lanthornes with lights to bee hanged out on the Winter evening betwixt Hallowtide and Candlemassee.
By an Act of the Common Council in 1716, all housekeepers, whose houses faced any street, lane, or passage, were required to hang out, every dark night, one or more lights, to burn from six to eleven o'clock, under the penalty of one shilling as a fine for failing to do so.
In 1667, a paper detailing the effects of these gases was entitled, "A Description of a Well and Earth in Lancashire taking Fire, by a Candle approaching to it.
"[13] British clergyman and scientist Stephen Hales experimented with the actual distillation of coal, thereby obtaining a flammable liquid.
"[14] Hales's results garnered attention decades later as the unique chemical properties of various gases became understood through the work of Joseph Black, Henry Cavendish, Alessandro Volta, and others.
[15] A 1733 publication by Sir James Lowther in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society detailed some properties of coal gas, including its flammability.
The "spirit" he isolated from coal caught fire by coming in contact with a candle as it escaped from a fracture in one of his distillation vessels.
[clarification needed] A Flemish alchemist, Jan Baptista van Helmont, was the first person to formally recognize gas as a state of matter.
Later in the 18th century William Murdoch (sometimes spelled "Murdock") stated: "the gas obtained by distillation from coal, peat, wood and other inflammable substances burnt with great brilliancy upon being set fire to … by conducting it through tubes, it might be employed as an economical substitute for lamps and candles.
In 1804, Dr Henry delivered a course of lectures on chemistry, at Manchester, in which he showed the mode of producing gas from coal, and the facility and advantage of its use.
His experiments were numerous and accurate and made upon a variety of substances; having obtained the gas from wood, peat, different kinds of coal, oil, wax, etc., he quantified the intensity of the light from each source.
[22] Murdoch's statements threw great light on the comparative advantage of gas and candles, and contained much useful information on the expenses of production and management.
Although the history is uncertain, David Melville has been credited[23][24][25][26] with the first house and street lighting in the United States, in either 1805 or 1806 in Newport, Rhode Island.
In 1810, however, the application was renewed by the same parties, and though some opposition was encountered and considerable expense incurred, the bill passed, but not without great alterations; and the London and Westminster Gas Light and Coke Company was established.
Under the supervision of the engineer, John Brelliat, extensive works were conducted in 1816-17 to build a gasholder, mains and street lights.
The first private residence in the US illuminated by gas has been variously identified as that of David Melville (c. 1806), as described above, or of William Henry, a coppersmith, at 200 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816.
[clarification needed] Another plan was devised by Reuben Phillips, of Exeter, who patented the purification of coal gas by the use of dry lime.
G. Holworthy, in 1818, patented a method of purifying it by passing the gas, in a highly condensed state, through iron retorts heated to a dark red.
In 1820, Swedish inventor Johan Patrik Ljungström had developed a gas lighting with copper apparatuses and chandeliers of ink, brass and crystal, reportedly one of the first such public installations of gas lighting in the region, enhanced as a triumphal arch for the city gate for a royal visit of Charles XIV John of Sweden in 1820.
This eliminated the need for special illuminating gas (a synthetic mixture of hydrogen and hydrocarbon gases produced by destructive distillation of bituminous coal or peat) to get bright shining flames.
According to the Illustrated London News, "Everywhere white and gold meets the eye, and about 200,000 gas jets add to the glittering effect of the auditorium … such a blaze of light and splendour has scarcely ever been witnessed, even in dreams.
"This was a beehive-shaped mesh of knitted thread impregnated with lime that, in miniature, converted the naked gas flame into in effect, a lime-light.
In the early 20th century, most cities in North America and Europe had gaslit streets, and most railway station platforms had gas lights too.
Gas lights also operate in parts of the famed French Quarter and outside historic homes throughout the city in New Orleans.
Besides producing a lot of heat, the combustion of methane tends to release significant amounts of carbon monoxide, a colourless and odourless gas that is more readily absorbed by the blood than oxygen, and can be deadly.
Historically, the use of lamps of all types was of shorter duration than we are accustomed to with electric lights, and in the far more draughty buildings, it was of less concern and danger.
New fixtures are still made and available for propane (sometimes called "bottle(d) gas"), a product of oil refining, which under most circumstances burns more completely to carbon dioxide and water vapour.
In some locations where public utility electricity or kerosene are not readily accessible or desirable, propane gas mantle lamps are still used, although the increased availability of alternative energy sources, such as solar panels and small scale wind turbines, combined with increasing efficiency of lighting products, such as compact fluorescent lamps and LEDs are also in use.
Perforated tubes bent into the shape of letters were used to form gas lit advertising signs, prior to the introduction of neon lights, as early as 1857 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
