Limelight

Limelight(also known asDrummond lightorcalcium light)^[1]is a non-electric type ofstage lightingonce used intheatresandmusic halls,and was the first solid-state lighting device.^[2]An intense illumination is created when a flame fed byoxygen and hydrogenis directed at a cylinder of quicklime (calcium oxide),^[3]which can be heated to 2,572 °C (4,662 °F) before melting. The light is produced by a combination ofincandescenceandcandoluminescence.Although it has long since been replaced by electric lighting, the term has nonetheless survived, as someone in the public eye is still said to be "in the limelight". The actual lamps are called "limes", a term which has been transferred to electrical equivalents.

History

Discovery and invention

The limelight effect was discovered in the 1820s byGoldsworthy Gurney,^[4]^[5]based on his work with the "oxy-hydrogenblowpipe",credit for which is normally given toRobert Hare.In 1825, aScottishengineer,Thomas Drummond(1797–1840), saw a demonstration of the effect byMichael Faraday^[6]and realized that the light would be useful for surveying. Drummond built a working version in 1826, and the device is sometimes called theDrummond lightafter him.

Early use in the United Kingdom

The earliest known use of limelight at a public performance was outdoors, overHerne Bay Pier,Kent, on the night of 3 October 1836 to illuminate a juggling performance by magicianChing Lau Lauro.This performance was part of the celebrations following the laying of thefoundation stoneof theClock Tower.The advertising leaflet called itkoniaphosticlight and announced that "the whole pier is overwhelmed with a flood of beautiful white light".^[7]^[8]Limelight was first used for indoor stage illumination in theCovent Garden TheatreinLondonin 1837 and enjoyed widespread use in theatres around the world in the 1860s and 1870s.^[9] Limelights were employed to highlight solo performers in the same manner as modernspotlights.^[10]

Early use in the United States

During theAmerican Civil Warin July and August 1863 calcium lights were used during the siege ofFort Wagner,allowingUnionforces to illuminate their artillery target at night while simultaneously blindingConfederategunners and riflemen. Calcium lights were also installed on Union Navy ships.^[11]

Limelight was replaced by electricarc lightingin the late 19th century.

Gallery

Heatingcalcium hydroxide(slaked lime) in a stove burner causes it to glow, although this is not as bright as a real limelight
19th century limelight used for stage lighting (collection: Stadsschouwburg (city theatre) Bruges, Belgium)

References

^James R. Smith (2004).San Francisco's Lost Landmarks,Quill Driver Books.
^[https://books.google.no/books?id=W4PNBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA4&dq=%22limelight%22+was+the+%22first+solid+state%22+light+device&hl=no&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiRvqjN66uCAxWjRvEDHboKL0oQ6AF6BAgIEAI#v=onepage&q=%22limelight%22%20was%20the%20%22first%20solid%20state%22%20light%20device&f=falseFundamentals of Solid-State Lighting LEDs, OLEDs, and Their Applications in Illumination and Displays]
^"Chemical of the Week – Lime".scifun.chem.wisc.edu.Archived fromthe originalon 17 February 2008.Retrieved24 December2017.
^Limelight – Leeds University Archived19 February 2011 at theWayback Machine,Retrieved 18 October 2013.
^Faraday, Michael; James, Frank A. J. L (1999).The Correspondence of Michael Faraday.p. 11.ISBN 978-0-86341-251-6.
^Carver, Craig M. (1991).A history of English in its own words.New York: HarperCollins. p.158.ISBN 0-06-270013-8.
^Bundock 2000,p. 6.
^The Mechanic and Chemist: A Magazine of the Arts and Sciences.1839. p. 354.
^Almqvist, Ebbe (2003).History of industrial gases.Springer Science & Business Media. pp.72–73.ISBN 978-0-306-47277-0.
^Reid, Francis(2001).The Stage Lighting Handbook (Stage and Costume)(6 Rev ed.). UK: A & C Black Publishers Ltd.ISBN 0-7136-5396-5.
^In the Limelight: A Civil War Military Innovation

Bibliography

Bundock, Mike (2000).Herne Bay Clock Tower: A Descriptive History.Herne Bay: Pierhead Publications.ISBN 978-0953897704.
Art Gallery of South Australia History of Limelights

External links

Media related toLimelightat Wikimedia Commons

[smith-1] James R. Smith (2004).San Francisco's Lost Landmarks,Quill Driver Books.

[2] [https://books.google.no/books?id=W4PNBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA4&dq=%22limelight%22+was+the+%22first+solid+state%22+light+device&hl=no&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiRvqjN66uCAxWjRvEDHboKL0oQ6AF6BAgIEAI#v=onepage&q=%22limelight%22%20was%20the%20%22first%20solid%20state%22%20light%20device&f=falseFundamentals of Solid-State Lighting LEDs, OLEDs, and Their Applications in Illumination and Displays]

[3] "Chemical of the Week – Lime".scifun.chem.wisc.edu.Archived fromthe originalon 17 February 2008.Retrieved24 December2017.

[4] Limelight – Leeds University Archived19 February 2011 at theWayback Machine,Retrieved 18 October 2013.

[5] Faraday, Michael; James, Frank A. J. L (1999).The Correspondence of Michael Faraday.p. 11.ISBN 978-0-86341-251-6.

[6] Carver, Craig M. (1991).A history of English in its own words.New York: HarperCollins. p.158.ISBN 0-06-270013-8.

[FOOTNOTEBundock20006-7] Bundock 2000,p. 6.

[8] The Mechanic and Chemist: A Magazine of the Arts and Sciences.1839. p. 354.

[9] Almqvist, Ebbe (2003).History of industrial gases.Springer Science & Business Media. pp.72–73.ISBN 978-0-306-47277-0.

[10] Reid, Francis(2001).The Stage Lighting Handbook (Stage and Costume)(6 Rev ed.). UK: A & C Black Publishers Ltd.ISBN 0-7136-5396-5.

[11] In the Limelight: A Civil War Military Innovation

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