Lengthening the Day: A History of Lighting Technology

by Brian Bowers

Throughout human history people have used light to lengthen their day. Modern life is now inconceivable without the light bulb, but up until the nineteenth century the only useful source of light was flame. This fascinating volume explains how light--from primitive torches to florescent lighting--has affected our daily lives. The book describes how oil lamps, candles, and gas lights work and outlines the principles of all the main types of electric lights now available. Thoroughly illustrated, Lengthening the Day provides a history of lighting, along with contemporary uses and technical details. Quotations from Aristophanes to Jane Austen, and from James Boswell to Kenneth Grahame, illustrate the social importance of lighting.

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology

238 pages, Hardcover

First published November 5, 1998

Reviews

[^ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's very humbling experience to come across and to read such an interesting and well-informed book on the history of lighting: something which is so fundamental to the construct of how we lead our daily lives, that we take it entirely for granted, and do not think twice about it. I found the contents of this book both very readable and utterly fascinating; because in addition to being a history of the inventiveness of men, it also provokes thought upon light’s shaping of social history and the economics of business and commerce. The sheer quantity of different forms and technologies of lighting used by man since time immemorial, products of the inventiveness of man is extraordinary. If you want to know about theatrical lime-light, the steatite burner, squirted filaments, the use of halophosphates, etc, etc, then read this book

Imagine having to arrange evening parties around the period of the full moon; and then hoping for a cloudless night sky! Just think how the whale-oil industry died almost overnight when the convenience of gas lighting replaced labour-intensive oil-lighting (disadvantaged by frequent cleaning, refuelling, and adjusting). Joseph Swan invented the practical incandescent lamp, but Thomas Edison successfully exploited it for commercial gain.

Mr Bowers has arranged his material well; chapters are helpfully and clearly split into sections. End-notes and numerous figures and photographs (colour & b/w) complement the text. The index seems short at only five pages; but I have not found it lacking.