A Dalén light is a light produced from burning of carbide gas (acetylene), combined with a solar sensor which automatically operates the light only during darkness.

Overview

The technology was the predominant form of light source in

lighthouses A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

from the 1900s through the 1960s, when electric lighting had become dominant. The system was invented by

Gustaf Dalén Nils Gustaf Dalén (; 30 November 1869 – 9 December 1937) was a Swedish Nobel Laureate and industrialist, engineer, inventor and long-term CEO of the AGA AB, AGA company and inventor of the AGA cooker and the Dalén light. In 1912 he was award ...

and marketed by his company AGA. Dalén later invented the

AGA cooker The AGA cooker oven is a Swedish oven and cooker. Invented and initially produced in Sweden, since 1957 all production has been located in the UK. History Originally developed to burn coal or anthracite, the Aga cooker was invented in 1922 by ...

in 1922. The Dalén light is notable because of its

sun valve A sun valve (''Swedish: solventil'', "solar valve") is a flow control valve that automatically shuts off gas flow during daylight. It earned its inventor Gustaf Dalén the 1912 Nobel Prize in Physics. Subsequently other variants of sun valve were ...

(a.k.a. solar valve), which earned its inventor the

Nobel prize in physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

. The

Carbide lamp Carbide lamps, or acetylene gas lamps, are simple lamps that produce and burn acetylene (C2H2) which is created by the reaction of calcium carbide (CaC2) with water (H2O). Acetylene gas lamps were used to illuminate buildings, as lighthouse b ...

was developed in the early 1900s. While the lamps proved useful in many applications, the problem of safely storing

acetylene Acetylene ( systematic name: ethyne) is the chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in its pure ...

meant they needed regular refilling which constrained their use in applications such as lighthouses.

Examples

Lighthouses using Dalén lighting have included: * Barrenjoey Lighthouse, New South Wales (1932–1972) *

Peninsula Point Light The Peninsula Point Light is a lighthouse located at the southern tip of the Stonington Peninsula in Bay de Noc township in Delta County, Michigan. United States Coast Guard historical documents have over the years listed the name of the site ...

(1922–1936)

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

United States *

Point Stephens Light The Point Stephens Light is a heritage-listed active lighthouse located on Point Stephens, a point on an unnamed headland at the east of Fingal Bay, south of the entrance of Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia. The light serves to as ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

(1922–1960) * Celarain Lighthouse, Mexico (1934 – ) *

Skerryvore Skerryvore (from the Gaelic ''An Sgeir Mhòr'' meaning "The Great Skerry") is a remote island that lies off the west coast of Scotland, southwest of Tiree. Skerryvore Lighthouse is located on these rocks, built with some difficulty between 1 ...

Lighthouse, the

Hebrides The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebri ...

( –1959) *

Recalada a Bahía Blanca Light Recalada a Bahía Blanca Light, also known as Monte Hermoso Light or simply Recalada Light (lit. landfall), is an active lighthouse in Monte Hermoso, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, marking the entrance to the Bahía Blanca. At a height of it ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

(1928–1974)

References

External links

Terry Pepper, Seeing the Light – Lighthouses of the Western Great Lakes, Illumination.
Lighthouse fixtures Types of lamp Synthetic fuel technologies Linde plc Swedish inventions {{lighthouse-stub