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The Story of Coal-Gas 65 struggle for supremacy between the two methods of lighting. While gas triumphed in some parts, elec- tricity vanquished it in others, but it was generally conceded that the era of coal-gas lighting was on the wane, and might be superseded unless some revolutionary idea in gas-lighting was produced. The revolution occurred. By an accident a new era of prosperity was given to the practice of gas- lighting. In the ordinary burners the gas is ignited merely to burn, the light emitted being the flame resulting from combustion, much upon the same lines as a piece of paper will flare up when lit. But about the middle of the last century a new principle of gas-lighting occupied considerable attention. This was the utilisation of the gas to generate extreme heat, which, brought to bear upon a suitable sub- stance, induced the latter to glow. When heating was raised to a certain point the material threw oft an intensely white light. The substance used for this purpose had to be of a refractory nature—that is to say, it would resist combustion. The first practical experiments were made shortly after the introduction of water-gas, research being stimulated for the simple reason that this gas is non-luminous. Gillard, to whom we owe the water-gas development, was the first to attempt the solution of this problem, because he realised that if he succeeded in this quest water-gas would become additionally valuable. He used platinum gauze for his purpose, and although he succeeded up to a point, the results were without commercial value, for the reason that the platinum speedily became inactive owing to the heavy deposition of carbon or soot upon it. F