Gas mantle
Camisa incandescente
- Date
- 1885 · confidence medium
- Place
- Vienna, Austria
- Credited to
- Carl Auer von Welsbach
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
A fabric mesh impregnated with metal oxides that, when burned over a gas flame, emits white light far brighter than the flame itself. It multiplied the efficiency of urban gas lighting just before the electric light bulb displaced it.
Perfected by Carl Auer von Welsbach between 1885 and 1891 after several failed attempts with different oxide mixtures.
What it led to
- far more efficient gas lighting in European streets and homes
- use in camping and pressure lanterns
- prolonged competitiveness of gas lighting against electricity