The leading invention there in this line was that of T. S. C. Lowe of Morristown, Pennsylvania, in 1873. In Lowe’s process anthracite coal might be used, which was raised in a suitable retort to a great heat, then superheated steam admitted over this hot bed and decomposed into hydrogen and carbonic oxide; then a small stream of naphtha or crude petroleum was thrown upon the surface of the burning coal, and from these decompositions and mixtures a rich olefiant product and other light-giving gases were produced.
The Franklin Institute of Philadelphia in 1886 awarded Lowe, or his representatives, a grand medal of honour, his being the invention exhibited that year which in their opinion contributed most to the welfare of mankind.
A number of inventors have followed in the direction set by Lowe. The largest part of gas manufacture, which has become so extensive, embodies the basic idea of the Lowe process.
The competition set up by the electricians, especially in the production of the beautiful incandescent light for indoor illumination, has spurred inventors of gas processes to renewed efforts—much to the benefit of that great multitude who sit in darkness until corporations furnish them with light.
It was found by Siemens, the great German inventor of modern gas regenerative furnace systems, that the quality of the gas was much improved, and a greater intensity of light obtained, by heating the gases and air before combustion—a plan particularly adapted in lighting large spaces.
To describe in detail the large number of inventions relating to the manufacture of gas would require a huge volume—the generators, carburetors, retorts, mixers, purifiers, metres, scrubbers, holders, condensers, governors, indicators, registers, chargers, pressure regulators, etc., etc.
It was a great convenience outside of towns and cities, where gas mains could not be laid, to have domestic plants and portable gas apparatus, worked on the same principles, but in miniature form, adapted to a single house, but the exercise of great ingenuity was required to render such adaptation successful.
In the use of liquid illuminants, which need a wick to feed them, the Argand burner—that arrangement of concentric tubes between which the wick is confined—although invented by Argand in 1784, yet has occupied a vast field of usefulness in connection with the lamps of the nineteenth century.
A dangerous but very extensively used illuminating liquid before coal oil was discovered was camphene, distilled from turpentine. It gave a good light but was not a safe domestic companion.
Great attention has recently been paid to the production of acetylene gas, produced by the reaction between calcium carbide and water. The making of the calcium carbide by the decomposition of mixed pulverised lime and coal by the use of a powerful electric battery, is a preliminary step in the production of this gas, and was a subsequent discovery.