Arc lamp Arc lamp An arc lamp or arc light is a lamp that produces light by an electric arc (also called a voltaic arc). The carbon arc light, which consists of an arc between carbon electrodes in air, invented by Humphry Davy in the first decade of the 1800s, was the first practical electric light. It was widely used starting in the 1870s for street and large building lighting until it was superseded by the incandescent light in the early 20th century. It continued in use in more specialized applications where a high intensity point light source was needed, such as
Safety lamp the Mueseler, Landau and Yates lamps below. Such a lamp was known as a "protector" lamp, a term picked up and used as a company name. Only on the return to the bank could the lamp man open the lamp for refilling and service. Various different locking mechanisms were developed; miners tended to be ingenious in finding ways of circumventing them. A number of additional lamps were supposed to accompany each gang of men, but restricting the number was an obvious economy for the pit owners. The light given out by these lamps was poor (particularly the Davy where it