The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Turning Night Into Day

Here in Russia as recently as a hundred years ago our streets were still lighted with oil lamps. Gogol has left a description in his story, "Nevsky Prospekt," of how the streets of Petersburg looked in those days:

As soon as dusk falls on the houses and streets, and the watchman, covering his head with a piece of matting, scrambles up the ladder to light the street lamp, Nevski Prospekt begins to stir with life and motion. . . . This is that mysterious hour when the lamps give their weird and fascinating light. . . . Long black shadows glide along the walls and pavements, their heads reaching almost to Police Bridge. But keep away from the street lamps, for God's sake! Hurry by them as fast as you can! You're lucky if you get off with no more than an evil smelling grease spot on your dress coat.

Gas And Kerosene Lights

A Gas Factory in a Candlestick

IT WASN'T very cheerful a hundred years ago to spend the evening by the dim light of tallow candles or oil lamps. It was hard to read, almost impossible if the print was fine.

When the lamp was lighted it would burn for a time but in about half an hour it would begin to die down. The heavy rape oil didn't feed well. The wick would get charred at the end. The lamp had to be relighted about every two hours.

People began to think about getting something else in the place of oil. And, sure enough, a new fuel made its appearance. Long years ago the "kindle-light" had been replaced by oil, now this oil was replaced by a gas, illuminating gas. How could they burn gas in a lamp and where did they get it?

If you put out a candle you will see a white smoke rising from the wick. You can light this smoke with a match. The flame of the burning smoke jumps from the match to the wick and the candle lights up again.

A candle is a little gas factory. When stearine or tallow is burned it first melts, then turns into gas and water vapor, which is what we see when we put the candle out. Burning gas and vapor, that is what a flame is. The same thing happens in a lamp, too. The oil or kerosene is turned into gas and water vapor which burn, thus making the flame.

The First Gas Works

Someone conceived the idea that combustible gas could be obtained in a gas plant instead of in a lamp, and that from this gas plant it could be piped to burners in different places. But instead of tallow or oil he used coal, which is cheaper.