A hanging oil lamp is a small and simple device that is used to create light and some heat while suspended from the ceiling. As the name suggests, oil is the main fuel source for such lamps, though there are many who use alcohol as well as other fuels.
Such lamps have been around for hundreds of years even though the first modern version of the lamp came about only in 1780. Since this time the lamp has changed little. The design and the principle behind it remains the same to this day and these lamps are routinely used in rural parts of the world where electricity is not available.
The workings of the lamp are very simple. It has an oil holding receptacle into which the wick is dipped. This wick in turn will carry some of the oil up to the top part of the lamp where it can be lit, thus producing a long lasting flame. Quite often, the hanging oil lamp will have a sort of glass covering the area where the wick is lit to prevent any burns from occurring as well as to keep any strong gusts of wind from extinguishing the flame.
Hanging oil lamps are of great historic significance and often are used symbolically in literature, movies and theatre. Some of the most notable oil lamps in history and literature include Aladdin’s Lamp from the book Arabian Nights and Florence Nightingale’s famous lamp – the one she carried with her when she went around in the night looking for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. It was because of this that Florence Nightingale earned the name, “The Lady with the Lamp.”
In today’s world there are still many uses for the oil lamp. You wouldn’t think of going on a camping trip without packing a kerosene lamp along. Most people who live on homesteads or people who live off the grid have oil lamps which they use for lighting purposes.