Please see the Transcriber’s Notes at the end of this text.
A
PRACTICAL TREATISE
ON
GAS-LIGHT;
EXHIBITING
A SUMMARY DESCRIPTION
OF THE
APPARATUS AND MACHINERY
BEST CALCULATED FOR
ILLUMINATING
STREETS, HOUSES, AND MANUFACTORIES,
WITH
CARBURETTED HYDROGEN, OR COAL-GAS,
WITH REMARKS
ON THE
UTILITY, SAFETY, AND GENERAL NATURE OF THIS NEW BRANCH
OF CIVIL ECONOMY.
By FREDRICK ACCUM,
OPERATIVE CHEMIST,
LECTURER ON PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY, ON MINERALOGY, AND ON CHEMISTRY
APPLIED TO THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES; MEMBER OF THE ROYAL
IRISH ACADEMY, FELLOW OF THE LINNÆN SOCIETY, MEMBER
OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF BERLIN, &c. &c.
WITH SEVEN COLOURED PLATES.
London:
PRINTED BY G. HAYDEN, BRYDGES-STREET, COVENT GARDEN;
FOR R. ACKERMANN, 101, STRAND;
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN; AND SHERWOOD, NEELY, AND
JONES, PATERNOSTER ROW; AND J. HATCHARD, PICCADILLY.
Price—Twelve Shillings in Boards.
1815.
EX FUMO DARE LUCEM.
Hor.
PREFACE.
11, Compton Street Soho.
The following pages are intended to exhibit asummary view of the new art of procuring light, bymeans of carburetted hydrogen gas obtained frompit-coal, and which of late has been employed withunparalelled success, as a substitute for candles andlamps, and is known by the name of Gas-Light.
To accomplish this object, I have given, in thefirst part of this Essay, a concise and popular viewof the chemical theory and production of artificiallight—I have explained the action of candles andlamps—I have shown the methods of measuringthe comparative illuminating power of artificiallight of different kinds, so as to appreciate theireconomical value—I have stated the proportionsof combustible materials requisite for producing alight of a certain strength; with such other preliminaryfacts and observations as were deemed necessaryto enable the reader to understand fully thenature of the new art of illumination, which it is theobject of this Essay to describe.
These positions are followed by a chemical viewof the general nature and composition of coal—thechemical changes which this substance suffers, whenemployed in the production of gas-light—the different[ii]products it furnishes—the modes of obtainingthem—their properties and applicatio