"In 1897 the American Badger Brass Company advertised the first successful acetylene gas bicycle lamp, called the 'Solar'. The discovery in 1982 of the electric furnace method of producing calcium carbide , by the Canadians Willson and Moorehad, led to demonstrations showing that the immersion of calcium carbide in water produced acetylene gas, which, in turn, gave a brilliant white light when lit.
Various attempts were made to copy the successful 'Solar' bit it was not until 1898 that the first commercially available British lamp appreared , Lucas's 'Acetylator'. Other manufacturers quickly followed suit and by 1905 there was a huge variety of acetylene lamps available to complement the many oil and kerosene examples."
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