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Firedamp'''Firedamp''' is a flammable gas found in coal mining|coal mines. It is actually the name given to a number of flammable gases, including methane. It is particularly commonly found in areas where the coal is Bituminous coal|bituminous.
Firedamp is explosive at concentrations between 4% and 16%, with most violence at around 10%, and caused much loss of life in coal mines before the invention of the Davy lamp.[ A continuous flame was produced at Whitehaven sometime before 1733, described as being "a yard wide and two yards long." The miners dealt with it by piping it to the outside.][The Book of Knowledge (1945) Vol.3 p. 990]
Rather than the Davy lamp, Tyneside miners used a Geordie lamp, a similar safety lamp designed by George Stephenson.
Damps
Gases (other than air) in coal mines in England were collectively known as '''"Damp (mining)|damps"'''. This comes from the German word ''Dampf'' (meaning "vapour"), and was probably introduced when German miners and mine engineers were brought to England in the 17th century to help in the development of deep mining.[''Encycloædia Britannica: Mine gas'']
Other damps included ''blackdamp'' (carbon dioxide and other gases), and the insidiously lethal ''afterdamp'' (carbon monoxide and other gases) produced following explosions of firedamp or coal dust.
References
See also
- Mining accident
- Udston mining disaster
Category:Coal mining
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Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL
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