Oil lamp

An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and continues to this day, although their use is less common in modern times. They work in the same way as a <a href="/facts/Candle/3d0EwvR6">candle</a> but with fuel that is liquid at room temperature, so that a container for the oil is required. A textile wick drops down into the oil, and is lit at the end, burning the oil as it is drawn up the wick.
Oil lamps are a form of <a href="/facts/Lighting/Gk54r8xE">lighting</a>, and were used as an alternative to candles before the use of electric lights. Starting in 1780, the <a href="/facts/Argand_lamp/E2XRFH6m">Argand lamp</a> quickly replaced other oil lamps still in their basic ancient form. These in turn were replaced by the <a href="/facts/Kerosene_lamp/tFBCrVm5">kerosene lamp</a> in about 1850. In small towns and rural areas the latter continued in use well into the 20th century, until such areas were finally <a href="/facts/Electrification/QbQynVHW">electrified</a> and light bulbs could be used.
Sources of fuel for oil lamps include a wide variety of plants such as nuts (<a href="/facts/Walnuts/lEkDbm8N">walnuts</a>, <a href="/facts/Almonds/oArfgmdq">almonds</a> and <a href="/facts/Kukui/ovoaqmT6">kukui</a>) and seeds (<a href="/facts/Sesame/mt1fttR6">sesame</a>, <a href="/facts/Olive_oil/ae1Qnt2I">olive</a>, <a href="/facts/Castor_oil/tag0x1BT">castor</a>, or <a href="/facts/Flax_oil/v0XdLFcr">flax</a>). Also widely used were animal fats (butter, <a href="/facts/Ghee/mv1b2ILY">ghee</a>, fish oil, <a href="/facts/Shark_liver_oil/GTNuMkBF">shark liver</a>, <a href="/facts/Whale_blubber/NEyrDtbM">whale blubber</a>, or <a href="/facts/Seal_oil/X72Ynqov">seal</a>). <a href="/facts/Camphine/yzCsVGKm">Camphine</a>, made of purified spirits of <a href="/facts/Turpentine/ME2Lgu0K">turpentine</a>, and burning fluid, a mixture of turpentine and alcohol, were sold as lamp fuels starting in the 1830s as the <a href="/facts/Whale_oil/zRP8Bd4h">whale oil</a> industry declined. Burning fluid became more expensive during the Civil War when a <a href="/facts/Revenue_Act_of_1862/3u5kHGoc">federal tax</a> on alcohol was <a href="/facts/Whiskey_Rebellion/vJGjropy">reenacted</a>. Sales of both camphene and burning fluid decreased in the late 1800s as other sources of lighting, such as <a href="/facts/Kerosene/DoHPYXKp">kerosene</a> made from petroleum, <a href="/facts/Gas_lighting/HDfak36f">gas lighting</a> and <a href="/facts/Electric_lighting/v3fb5WBp">electric lighting</a>, began to predominate.
Most modern lamps (such as <a href="/facts/Lantern/m6auBTAq">fueled lanterns</a>) have been replaced by <a href="/facts/Propane/E0b23KGh">gas-based</a> or <a href="/facts/Naphtha/DpzLNMey">petroleum-based</a> fuels to operate when emergency non-electric light is required. Oil lamps are currently used primarily for their ambience.

Oil lamp open-in-new

Oil lamp