Gas Mantle

Basics

• A Device that Dramatically Improves the Brightness of Flame Based Lanterns / Lamps
• Mainly:
  • Gas Lamps (Traditionally Town Gas , but now mainly Methane , or Propane )
    • These should also run off of DME , experimentation needed with Syngas , Hydrogen , and Raw Biogas (Sulfur Deposits / SOx Emissions ?)
  • Pressurized Liquid Fuel Lanterns ( Kerosene Lanterns / White Gas Lanterns )
    • Experimentation needed with running these off of various Alcohols
• They work via using the flame to heat Incandescent Materials and/or Candoluminescent Materials that are chosen for their high light output and/or white light output (Akin to gas Mixtures in Plasma Lamps )
• The mantles are made via some sort of Gauze / Mesh of a cloth, typically Rayon or Nitrocellulose although other options exist
  • A Tie String / Tie Wire is typically added, although clips and/or Pre-Attatched Metal or Ceramic Mounting Brackets also exist
• Cone or Thimble Shaped Mantles are most common, however Coleman came out with “Northstar” Mantle Lanterns which utilized a Tubular Lantern Amchored on Each End
  • The tubular mantle has the advantage of needed little processing other than being taken off the Circular Knitting Machine and having the seams/mounting points attatched (if they are not designed into the knitting pattern)
• Thus rather than optimizing a flame for brightness, the flame can be adapted for Clean Combustion / Efficiency
  • Research into Premixed Combustion and Air Fuel Ratio’s Impact on Emissions is worthwhile
  • Also Light Production vs Emissions; Candle flames, and Carbide Lamps partially require Particulate Matter as the Candoluminescent Media
  • As with Lean Burn Internal Combustion Engines , A Leaner Flame may be more efficient, but this may produce less light / increase emissions (again further testing required)

Design

Mantle Dopants

• Most Commercial Options Used Thorium dioxide
  • 99% thorium dioxide and 1% cerium dioxide
• Due to the challenges of working with Radioactive Materials (especially in Powder Form, re Fugitive Dust Emissions ) most companies changed formulas over to nonradioactive (yet still not exactly Appropriate Materials ) Yttrium / Cerium Salts
  • There was SOME concern about Consumer Radiation Exposure, but the production of Radon Gas was minimal/would diffuse in an outdoor/well ventilated environment
  • As with Americium smoke detectors etc, due to Aplha Particles having poor penetration power, radiation risk is minimal short of ingestion/inhalation
    • The exposure to Radioactive Dust in terms of “Burnt In” mantles disintegrating etc is quite valid though

Current “State of the Art” Non-Radioactive Mixes

• Figuring out what Current / Before being cancelled due to low sales etc Coleman / Other Lantern Mantles used for dopants is a worthwhile endeavor
• Also reverse engineering mesh size / composition would be of use
• Supposedly the “Aladin Lamps”, which were slightly hotter but otherwise conventional Oil Lamps that used mantles, were potentially coated in Collodion / Nitrocellulose which aided in their pre-burn in rigidity, and aided in a successful “burn in” (ie easy to light + less chance of implosion/tear and thus a failed burn in)

Potential Novel Improvements

To Dopant Mix

• Using less scarce materials would be great; the temperature may not be high enough, but attempting a Limelight but via Gas Mantle would be interesting
• Probably wouldn’t work, but in search of novel materials could Quantum Dots work?
• If not other salts that may not give white light, but would give bright enough light
• Something akin to an “adjuvant” that doesn’t produce light, but helps maintain mesh stability/rigidity may be worth looking into, Ceramic Powders etc

To Cloth Structure

• Aforementioned Collodion
• Variations in Mesh Size/Form
• If using a Northstar style tubular mantle, optimal tube length vs light output etc
• Design for Burn-In Shrinkage

Non-Consumable Mantles

• Stainless Steel Mesh WITHOUT Dopants has been used, albeit very dim
• Stainless Steel Coated in a Heavy Dopant to Ceramic Slurry Mix MAY work as a Durable Permanent Mantle (this may be limited by higher Thermal Mass / Less Surface Area of Dopants, but further experimentation required)
• LVP / Resin 3D Printing with Ceramic Resin of the aforementioned high dopant ceramic mix could allow for 3D Printed Gas Mantles
  • While less strong, these would have less thermal mass/could be made far thinner
• Encased/Encapsulated Mantles
  • One Forum Post described putting a metal mesh around torn up mantles, this worked about half as well supposedly as a PROPER mantle, but would be far more rugged
    • A design reminiscent of a Pebble Bed Nuclear Reactor but with Optically Transparent Synthetic Diamond coated salt pellets would be one HELL of an engineering challenge, but could potentially work!
      • Stuffed tubes, potentially made of Glass or Synthetic Sapphire are a similar level of outlandish but may work
• Porous Gas Burner technology, but doped with the same mix
  • If done with the coated metal mesh, or a porous ceramic brick doped to the right extent, this may allow for LED Like Flat Emitters, but Gas Powered

Mounting Mechanism

• Having a Cam Lock type mechanism, or some sort of other improved metal or ceramic ring (especially in portable devices) would be novel

Internal Links

• Limelight
• Propane Lantern

External Links

• The Wikipedia Page on Gas Mantles
• The Wikipedia Page on Clamond Baskets (Used Magnesium Oxide rather than other minerals)
• A Video by the YouTube Channel "Technology Connections" Titled "How the gas mantle made lamps 10X brighter"
• The Oil Field Wiki Page on Gas Mantles
• A Wayback Machine Archive of the Page "Pressure Lamps International A Brief History of the Incandescent Mantle Pressure Lamp"