kind of this is a saftey lamp which was carried by Officials and Deputies It differs from the traditional Miners lamp carried by colliers beacuse it has a lighting mechanism allowing the lamp to be re lit underground. the miners lamps were lit in the lamp room and then sealed before going underground they couldnt be re lit if they went out.
They also had a testing mechanism allowing you let a sample of air into the lamp through the vents on the side and then observe the effect it has on the flame, A system of gauzes keeps to much from getting at the flame and going boom in the case of Fire Damp(methane).
I have no idea how to read the flame though,
they are quite cool things and even in the modern age with electronic gas testers its still a legal requirement for a lamp house to provide Safty lamps and Canaries. for use underground.
And this is why... Coal reacts with the oxygen in the air all the time, not just when it's burnt, although the process is the same.
Basic chemistry, Coal is carbon (C), air is oxygen (O)
C + 2O -> CO2 - Carbon dioxide - unbreathable, but unreactive with human body. small volumes naturally occuring in air. Minor exposure - symptoms recede when casualty removed to well ventilated place. Major exposure = death
when you have limited air, for example in a badly ventilated mine or tunnel (for example the Victoria Tunnel?) the coal only reacts partly..
C + O -> CO - Carbon Monoxide - breathable, reacts with human blood by binding to haemoglobin in preference to oxygen, mild symptoms include flushed face, dizziness and laboured breathing, headache and impairment lasting beyond the initial exposure Exposure to any volume longer than a for couple of seconds results in instant collapse and death.
Add to that the risk of exposure to H2S - Hydrogen Sulphide or 'rotten eggs' smell which reacts with water in your nose to produce H2SO4 - Sulphuric acid, and which is also an asphyxiant (and by the way, when you stop smelling rotten eggs, sewer fans, it's because the Sulphuric acid has dissolved the olfactory nervous system of your nose).
I know people who have suffered mild effects of carbon monoxide in the Victoria Tunnels, one person who collapsed in a 'tourist' mine when he stepped out of the ventilated area to take samples and nearly died if it hadn't been for his quick thinking colleague who, whilst feeling the effects herself, pulled his unconscious body out (the whole episode took maybe 5 seconds?) and one person who now has no sense of smell thanks to exposure to H2S.
This is why I give holes with coal in (whether they be ironstone mines, old coal wagonways etc etc) a really wide berth, unless I know they're well ventilated.
Nice tubs, by the way.
Flickr kindly host my images for me. My flickr page is here
yes in theory they should have some in the lamp house, they still have to keep them at Big Pit, Blaenavon even though its just a museium now because its an actual underground tour its still covered by Mines and Quarry's legislation. i'll post up some pics o Big Pit in the way back thread when i go home
great pics and very interesting reading
yesterday is history.tomorrow is a mystery. today is a gift thats why is called present
x2yeah please do, i would be interested to see, i love mines
Am also loving that lamp, very nice indeed