Oil lamp
Encyclopedia : O : OI : OIL : Oil lamp
An oil lamp is a device used for lighting or for preserving a flame that is fueled by animal, vegetable or mineral oil.
The term often refers to ancient pottery and metal designs – the kind one might rub in hopes of summoning a Genie (as in the tale of Aladdin). "Rubbing a lamp" was a common household chore to clean and polish it.
Sometimes the term "oil lamp" is applied to the modern kerosene lamp as well.
In ancient Greece and Rome, lamps were fueled by olive oil; in ancient India, by ghee; in ancient Persia, by petroleum that was found oozing freely from the ground.
Olive oil lamps continued in wide use in countries around the Mediterranean Sea well into the 19th century, with the lamps being mass produced out of metal (most commonly brass or bronze), but otherwise little changed in design from lamps of some 2,000 years earlier. In 1770 the Argand lamp was invented and quickly replaced the ancient form. It was, in turn, replaced by the kerosene lamp in about 1850. In small towns and rural areas these continued in use well into the 20th century. The light given by an olive oil lamp is significantly brighter than a candle, but significantly less than the Argand lamp or the kerosene or paraffin burning lamp.
Oil lamps are sometimes made out of strange objects; for instance, there exist oil lamps produced from U.S. Army Surplus grenades. They are available in New York City, New York in the United States and in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. [link] People have been stopped at Dutch customs for possessing these hand grenade oil lamps.
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External links
| L i g h t i n g and L a m p s | ||
|---|---|---|
| Incandescent: | Incandescent light bulb>Conventional - Halogen - Parabolic Aluminized Reflector (PAR) |
|
| Fluorescent: | Compact fluorescent lamp>Compact Fluorescent (CFL) - Linear fluorescent - Induction lamp | |
| Gas discharge: | High-intensity discharge lamp>High-Intensity Discharge (HID) - Mercury-vapor - Metal-halide - Neon - Sodium vapor | |
| Electric arc: | Arc lamp - Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide>HMI - Xenon arc - Yablochkov candle | |
| Combustion: | Carbide lamp>Acetylene/Carbide - Candle - Gas lighting - Kerosene lamp - Limelight - Oil lamp - Safety lamp | |
| Other types: | Sulfur lamp - Light-emitting diode>Light-Emitting Diode (LED) - Optical fiber - Plasma | |
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