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Humphry Davy's Miners' Safety Lamp

© the artist. Image credit: The Royal Institution

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Notes

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This painting is part of a series depicting scientific apparatus on display in the Royal Institution’s museum. This object is a miners’ safety lamp made by Humphry Davy in the autumn of 1815.

Working in coal mines was very dangerous: there were areas of flammable gas and the miners had lamps with open flames so explosions were common. Davy was asked by mine owners to find a way of lighting the mines safely. He worked intensively on the problem for two months, trying lamps with differently sized pipes and long chimneys to control the flame. Finally he realised that the best solution was very simple: a cage made of gauze with holes too small for the flame to pass through. Davy was widely celebrated for his invention, both in Britain and abroad, and he was even thanked by the Emperor of Russia, Alexander I, by the presentation of a soup tureen.

The Royal Institution

London

Title

Humphry Davy's Miners' Safety Lamp

Date

2009

Medium

oil on linen

Measurements

H 20 x W 20 cm

Accession number

EN 28

Acquisition method

gift from Dr Mary Joyce Pickersgill, 2010

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The Royal Institution

21 Albermarle Street, London, Greater London W1S 4BS England

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