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 It was widely used starting in the 1870s for street and large building lighting until it was superseded by the incandescent light in the early 20th century.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 him to determine the correct size and fineness for a miner's lamp. Davy was awarded the Rumford Medal and £1,000 by the Royal Society in 1816 and a £2,000 prize by the country's colliery owners, who also awarded 100 guineas (£105) to Stephenson. However, the Newcastle committee also awarded Stephenson a £1,000 prize collected by subscription. Dr. Clanny was awarded a medal by the Royal Society of Arts in 1816. Both the Davy and Stephenson lamps were fragile. The gauze in the Davy lamp rusted in the damp air of a coal pit and became unsafe, while the glass in