The difficult birth of automobile headlights

13.12.2016
The difficult birth of automobile headlights

Today we are so accustomed to the headlights of the cars that was not asking whether the outset of automotive them was how they looked. History reveals that the first cars were placed primitive lamps with wax candles or kerosene burners that are borrowed from horse crews.

So made, however, these devices barely lit road and engineers imse had to continue to seek more effective solution. This leads to the acetylene lighting and for quite a long period neizmena of cars are two barrels - one with calcium carbide and the second - with plain water. Before driving at night, the driver turned the faucet snetsialnoto that connect the two barrels. So while running water is reuniting with carbide and received acetylene - a gas which when burned gives powerful enough luminous flux. But after a few hours the contents of two barrels depletion and recharge was necessary with cleaning soot from the reflector glass of primitive lighthouse.

Historical fact is that incandescent appeared before the car but did not enter into his device. In 1899, the French company Bassee & Michel tries to combine car and light bulb, but the project failed - lamp with carbon filament fast breaks on rough roads, use a lot of energy and consequently large batteries. Only with the advent of a new type of light bulbs with tungsten filaments new era of automobile headlights. But again there is a problem and it is in that light bulb glows very brightly. In order not to dazzle oncoming drivers began using additional valves and curtains dim the lights. Later vavezda and use of double stranded lamp with low and high beam. In 1955, finally introduces asymmetrical lighting - when headlights shine on the passenger side to the driver.

Today's automotive lights are three types: halogen and discharge lamps and LEDs. For lasers and other exotic lights is too early to speak. Halogen lamp consists of a sealed glass bulb inside which electrodes are placed incandescent tungsten. When gas filling lamps light comes from the electric arc between the electrodes, it is much stronger than that of halogen lamps.

Comments: 0

Comments