A show cave —also called tourist cave , public cave , and, in the United States, commercial cave —is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits.
21-507: Dixie Caverns is a commercial show cave located in the Riverside community of Roanoke County , Virginia , USA, four miles west of Salem . The cave is a limestone solution cave. Visitors may explore the caverns in a 45-minute guided tour. The caverns were found by two farm boys in 1920 after their dog, Dixie, fell through a hole that led to the caves. They decided to name the caverns after their dog in honor of his discovery. Guided tours of
42-463: A belt-mounted gas generator linked by flexible pipe to a headset. The acetylene producing reaction is exothermic , which means that the lamp's reactor vessel will become quite warm to the touch; this can be used to warm the hands. The heat from the flame can also be used to warm the body by allowing the exhaust gases to flow under a shirt or poncho pulled out from the body, a technique discovered almost immediately by cold miners, and nicknamed by cavers
63-430: A bright, broad light. Many cavers prefer this type of unfocused light as it improves peripheral vision in the complete dark. The reaction of carbide with water is exothermic and produces a fair amount of heat independent of the flame. In cold caves, carbide lamp users can use this heat to help stave off hypothermia. Acetylene is produced by the reaction: The acetylene combusts easily in the atmosphere : When all of
84-555: A container outside the home, with water piped to the container and allowed to drip on the pellets releasing acetylene. This gas was piped to light fixtures inside the house, where it was burned, creating a very bright flame. Carbide lighting was inexpensive, but was prone to gas leaks and explosions. Early models of the automobile, car, motorbike and bicycle used carbide lamps as headlamps . Acetylene gas, derived from carbide, enabled early automobiles to drive safely at night. Thick concave mirrors combined with magnifying lenses projected
105-532: A mixture of lime and coke . The arc furnace provides the high temperature required to drive the reaction. Manufacture of calcium carbide was an important part of the industrial revolution in chemistry, and was made possible in the United States as a result of massive amounts of inexpensive hydroelectric power produced at Niagara Falls before the turn of the twentieth century. In 1895, Willson sold his patent to Union Carbide . Domestic lighting with acetylene gas
126-611: Is a simple lamp that produces and burns acetylene (C 2 H 2 ), which is created by the reaction of calcium carbide (CaC 2 ) with water (H 2 O). Acetylene gas lamps were used to illuminate buildings, as lighthouse beacons, and as headlights on motor-cars and bicycles. Portable acetylene gas lamps, worn on the hat or carried by hand, were widely used in mining in the early twentieth century. They are still employed by cavers , hunters, and cataphiles . In 1892, Thomas Willson discovered an economically efficient process for creating calcium carbide in an electric arc furnace from
147-566: Is often called a semi-wild cave. Access may involve anything between an easy stroll and dangerous climbing . Most cave accidents happen in this kind of cave, as visitors underestimate the difficulties and dangers. The oldest known show cave in the world is probably Reed Flute Cave in China with inscriptions from 792 in the time of the Tang dynasty . Other old show caves are Postojna Cave in Slovenia , with
168-686: The Harz in Germany though this cave was intensively visited much earlier. The development of electric lighting enabled the illumination of show caves. Early experiments with electric light in caves were carried out by Lieutenant Edward Cracknel in 1880 at Chifley Cave , Jenolan Caves , Australia . In 1881, Sloupsko-Šošůvské Jeskyně , Czech Republic , became the first cave in the world with electric arc light. This light did not use light bulbs, but electric arc lamps with carbon electrodes, which burned down and had to be replaced after some time. The first cave in
189-412: The acetylene flame light. These type of lights were used until reliable batteries and dynamos became available, and manufacturers switched to electric lights. Acetylene lamps were also used on riverboats for night navigation. The National Museum of Australia has a lamp made in about 1910 that was used on board PS Enterprise , a paddle steamer which has been restored to working order and also in
210-546: The advent of high-intensity light-emitting diode (LED) illumination with lithium-ion batteries, carbide also had two important advantages over the alternative of miners electric lamps. Miner's lamps were intended to last for the duration of a standard working shift, whilst major caving explorations could be much longer, so the carbide could be replenished during the trip. Expeditions involving camping over several days in remote regions might not have access to electricity for recharging. Lamps used in such circumstances would consist of
231-432: The carbide in a lamp has been reacted, the carbide chamber contains a wet paste of slaked lime ( Ca(OH) 2 ) which can be used to make a cement . This is emptied into a waste bag and the chamber can be refilled. Carbide lighting was used in rural and urban areas of the United States which were not served by electrification . Its use began shortly after 1900 and continued past 1950. Calcium carbide pellets were placed in
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#1732854858474252-478: The caverns were begun in 1923. The best-known attraction is a bell-shaped flowstone formation known as the "Wedding Bell". Weddings have been held under the Bell. The cave is located in a hill overlooking the surrounding region. This Roanoke County, Virginia state location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Show cave A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to
273-514: The coal pits of other countries, notably the Soviet Union . In the birth of the cinema of Iquitos , a carbide lamp was used as light source to project the first film in the Casa de Fierro , in 1900. A mining or caving lamp has calcium carbide placed in a lower chamber, the generator. The upper reservoir is then filled with water. A threaded valve or other mechanism is used to control the rate at which
294-568: The early 1900s, Gustaf Dalén invented the Dalén light . This combined two of Dalén's previous inventions, namely the substrate Agamassan and the Sun valve . Inventions and improvements to carbide lamps continued for decades. After carbide lamp open flames were implicated in an Illinois coal-seam methane gas explosion that killed 54 miners, the 1932 Moweaqua Coal Mine disaster , carbide lamp use declined in United States coal mines. They continued to be used in
315-526: The museum's collection. They are also used for night hunting . Early caving enthusiasts, not yet having the advantage of light-weight electrical illumination, introduced the carbide lamp to their hobby. While increasingly replaced by more modern choices, a substantial percentage of cavers still use this method. Many cavers favour carbide lamps for their durability and quality of illumination. They were once favoured for their relative illumination per mass of fuel compared to battery-powered devices. Before
336-560: The presumed first record of a cave tour in 1213. Other early show caves are Jasov Cave in Slovakia with inscriptions from 1452, the Sontheimer Höhle in Germany which was reportedly visited by Herzog Ulrich von Württemberg on 20 May 1516 and Vilenica Cave in Slovenia where entrance fees were taken from 1633 on. In 1649, the first "authorized" cave guide started guiding Baumannshöhle in
357-750: The public for guided visits, where a cave is defined as a natural occurring void beneath the surface of the earth, per the International Show Caves Association. A show cave may be managed by a government or commercial organization and made accessible to the general public, usually for an entrance fee. Unlike wild caves, they may possess regular opening hours, guided group tours, constructed trails and stairs, color artificial illumination and other lighting, musical/video/laser shows and concerts, elevators, small trains, and boats if they contain underground water features. Some caves (mainly in Asia) open to
378-486: The public have temples, monasteries and religious statues or monuments. Some caves are visited by millions of tourists annually. The term is used inconsistently between nations: many countries tend to call all caves which are open to the public show caves or public caves in contrary to all other caves which are not allowed to enter. However, there are many such caves which are not developed with trails, light and tours, which are visited by very many people. This kind of cave
399-432: The water is allowed to drip into the chamber containing the calcium carbide. By controlling the rate of water flow, the production of acetylene gas is controlled. This, in turn, controls the flow rate of the gas and the size of the flame at the burner, and thus the amount of light it produces. This type of lamp generally has a reflector behind the flame to help project the light forward. An acetylene gas powered lamp produces
420-851: The world with electric light bulbs as we know them today was the Kraushöhle in Austria in 1883. But the light was abandoned after only seven years and then visited with carbide lamps for decades. Today the cave is guided with handheld LED lamps. In 1884, two more caves were equipped with electric light, Postojna Cave , Slovenia , and Olgahöhle , Germany . Because of the unwanted development of lampenflora ( algae attracted to heat and light) around incandescent electric lights in show caves, many of these attractions, such as Ingleborough Cave in England , have switched to cooler-temperature LED lighting . Carbide lamp A carbide lamp or acetylene gas lamp
441-455: Was introduced circa 1894 and bicycle lamps from 1896. In France, Gustave Trouvé , a Parisian electrical engineer, also made domestic acetylene lamps and gasometers . The first carbide bicycle lamp developed in the United States was patented in New York on August 28, 1900, by Frederick Baldwin. Another early lamp design is shown in a patent from Duluth, Minnesota from October 21, 1902. In
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