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| Diagram of a Davy lamp |
The Davy lamp is an advancement of open-flame mining lamps. To prevent firedamp explosions, the Davy lamp is equipped with a copper mesh cap that encloses the flame.
The lamp’s operation is based on the thermal conductivity of copper. When firedamp enters the mesh cap, the flame responds by flickering or extinguishing. The copper mesh dissipates the heat from the flame, ensuring that the temperature of the combustion gases passing through the mesh is not high enough to ignite the firedamp outside the lamp.
Thus, the mesh cap allows for the detection of flammable firedamp in the surroundings while preventing the flame from spreading outward. As a result, the risk of explosions is significantly reduced.