Also how much smoke and fumes does the moss produce? I know tallow candles
are a bit smelly but if the moss burns brightly maybe it produced too much
smoke to be able to use underground.
Adrian
> On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 18:15:42 +0000
> Catherine Jane Mills <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Having observed the superior power of illumination of a ball of dried
>> moss soaked in candle wax burnt on a shell sea compared with an
>> ordinary wax taper underground I wondered why early metal miners and
>> colliers (in the absence of methane)would have persisted with an such
>> inferior technology as the candle. a small handful of dried moss about
>> tennis ball size burns for one hour.
>> Was this method used and has any one found evidence of burnt shells or
>> burnt pottery underground?
>> Regards
>> Catherine Mills
>>
>>
> I'd hazard a guess that you get what you pay for, and since the miners
> paid for the candles, they would be reluctant to pay for something that
> lasted a fraction of the time the ordinary candle burned for. After all.
> if they needed more light, they could always light more candles. I imagine
> that the moss candle burned all over the surface, which would have made
> for tricky handling, the shell base notwithstanding.
>
> Regards, Rod Goslin
>
>
--
Adrian Pearce
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