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 It was widely used starting in the 1870s for street and large building lighting until it was superseded by the incandescent light in the early 20th century.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 a scientific instrument for detecting the presence of firedamp". Some pits continued to use candles for illumination, relying on the Davy to warn men when to extinguish them. In the earlier Geordie lamps an oil lamp is surrounded by glass. The top of the glass has a perforated copper cap with a gauze screen above that. The glass is surrounded by a perforated metal tube to protect it. Later versions had an annular chamber around the base of the lamp into which air entered through small (") holes and from which air passed through gauze into the lamp. The glass