Mine Safety Lamps

In 1912, the British government offered a prize to the person who could design an acceptable electric safety lamp for miners. A German engineer won the prize for his "Ceag" or "Cage" lamp. Outwardly, the electric Cage lamp resembled the old safety lamp, but the resemblance ended there. The Cage lamp was safe where gasses had collected; it produced twice as much light as the safety lamp; its storage battery provided enough electrical energy to last sixteen hours, or two shifts; and it was tough enough to withstand rough treatment.

The Cage lamp's upper section held an incandescent light, and a lower section held a storage battery. Its cylindrical exterior casing, made from heavy corrugated tin, was strong and resisted warping, and it had no projections to catch on clothing. The bulb was held in place between two opposing spiral springs and was protected by a thick glass cover. The battery was secured by a band of celluloid paper and was easy to replace. Power was turned on and off by rotating the top of the lamp.

In 1913, in the United States, Thomas Edison won the Ratheman Medal for developing another miner's safety lamp. Edison's lamp used a light-weight storage battery that a miner could easily carry on his back. Illumination was provided by a tungsten lamp that had "a parabolic reflector and a heavy lens to distribute the light over the proper area." The light itself could be fastened to the miner's hat, and a flexible cord connected the battery and the lamp. Because the cord locked in place and could not easily be pulled out, it was difficult for a miner to disconnect the wires and cause a spark that could ignite gases or dust in a mine.

Despite these and other advances, however, it was many years before electric lamps came into wide use in the mines. Over the years, other lamps were tried and discarded until, finally, today's sophisticated lamps evolved.

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