Electric Illumination in the Franco-Prussian War

During the first half of the nineteenth century battery powered arc lights were steadily improved. Parisian inventors were in the forefront of this development, so when Paris was besieged in 1870 the French were able to equip their defenders with arc lights to guard against German night attacks, to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social studies of science 1977-11, Vol.7 (4), p.525-529
Main Author: Gorman, Mel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Batteries
Electric generators
Electric/Electrical/Electricity
Electrical engineering
Forts
History/Historic/Historical
Light
Light/Lighting
Lighting
Notes and Letters
Physics
Science/Sciences (see also Scientific)
Sieges
Social studies learning
Technology
Technology/Technological/ Technologically
War
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Summary:During the first half of the nineteenth century battery powered arc lights were steadily improved. Parisian inventors were in the forefront of this development, so when Paris was besieged in 1870 the French were able to equip their defenders with arc lights to guard against German night attacks, to signal, and to permit military construction after dark. Effective as these lights were, their performance nevertheless was surpassed by a light, powered by a magneto-electric generator, which was located on the commanding heights of Montmartre. The spectacular brilliance of this light was a sensation, not only for the combatants, but also for civilians. The latter were allowed to view the whole installation, and have it explained by the engineer in charge. The demonstrated military usefulness of generator powered lighting provided the impetus for post-war civilian applications. Paris became the showplace for the viability of broad scale public and industrial lighting.
ISSN:0306-3127
1460-3659
DOI:10.1177/030631277700700416