Glass Discussion & Research. NO IDENTIFICATION REQUESTS here please. > Far East (excluding China)
Uranium glass headlights!
Frank:
So far the earliest reference is 1918 thanks to Tim on a light bulb collectors forum:
--- Quote ---The Gasoline Automobile by Peter Martin Heldt, 1918
The source also mentions that a company called Esterline made an automobile headlamp using a Golden Glow reflector. It would seem that “Golden Glow” was used loosely to describe such reflectors.
--- End quote ---
Esterline was set up in 1916 and until 1967 scientific instrument makers. No trace of patents with any of the names known now but it is Possible "Golden Glow" is just a nickname that stuck. Perhaps the concept arrived during WW1 when they need good compact bright lights and Arc Lamps were a bit cumbersome at that time. Possibly not a US invention, a lot of European countries have/had yellow headlights as standard, did they ever use uranium reflectors? Well, lots of questions, now you vaseline collectors better get to some vintage vehicle gatherings... armed with geiger and UV light :)
It is possible that the use of a uranium reflector pre-dates electric light.
Frank:
Over on the lightbulb forum at http://bulbcollector.com/
Tim has found two candidates for inventors
http://bulbcollector.com/forum/index.php?topic=1036.0
Lustrousstone:
Interesting stuff, thank you for taking it further :clap:
JUGCC:
http://uranglass.gooside.com/goldenlight/goldeneng.htm
If anyone spots on in real life let me know!
My name is Ritsuo, and I am managing the Japan Uranium Glass Collectors Club (JUGCC). We have about 200 members.
The above page is machine-translated from Japanese to English, and may be difficult to read.
We have an automobile fog-light made by German maker for UK automobiles, and the front glass of this light is uranium glass.
The age is 1910-1920.
Japanese train light (so-called Golden Glow Light) is using uranium glass in its mirror, and front glass is NOT uranium glass.
The age is about 1930.
Recently, we acquired a big train head light of US steam locomotive.
It is similar to the above Japanese train light.
The age is 1920s.
Vaseline glass (Uranium glass) have been mostly used at homes.
The only scientific use is head-light, and vacuum tube (cathode ray tuber).
2010-Dec-02
Ritsuo
manager of the Japan Uranium Glass Collectors Club (JUGCC).
Frank:
Welcome, it would be nice to hear about vaseline glass production in Japan.
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