Gustaf Dalén
Initially Dalén worked with acetylene (IUPAC: ethyne), an extremely explosive hydrocarbon gas. Dalén invented Agamassan (Aga), a substrate used to absorb the gas allowing safe storage and hence commercial exploitation. In 1906 he became Chief Engineer at the Gas Accumulator Company (manufacturer and distributor of acetylene).
Acetylene produced an ultra-bright white-light and immediately superseded the duller-flamed LPG as the fuel of choice in lighthouse illuminations. This light also caused Dalen to go blind when an experiment involving acetylene exploded. Dalen exploited the new fuel, developing the Dalén light which itself incorporated a further invention, the sun valve. This solar switch controlled the light during the hours of darkness ensuring that the buoys burnt less fuel and would only operate at night. This inevitably prolonged their service life to beyond a year.
The ‘Dalen Flasher’ was a device that, except for a small pilot light,only consumed gas during the flash stage. This reduced gas consumption by more than 80%.
In 1909 he ascended to the position of Managing Director of the renamed company Svenska Aktiebolaget Gasaccumulator (AGA). AGA developed lighthouses using Dalén's products.
To a rugged coastal area like Scandinavia, his mass-produced long-life minimal maintenance buoys were a significant boon to safety and livelihood. Internationally, AGA Lighthouses were built covering the entire Panama Canal. Early in 1912, Dalén was blinded in an acetylene explosion. Later the same year he was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics. Dalén was too ill to attend the presentation. His brother, ophthalmologist Professor Albin Dalén, of the Caroline Institute stood in his place.
The presentation speech praised the quality of sacrificing personal safety in scientific experimentation, a compliment that compared Dalén with Nobel himself.
In 1922 he invented the AGA cooker, and despite his blindness, Dalén remained in control of AGA until 1937.
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Honours and awards
- University: MA, Chalmers University of Technology
- University: PhD, Chalmers University of Technology
- Nobel Prize for Physics 1912
- Suffered blindness yet ran multi-national company
- Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
- Academy of Science and Engineering
- 100 patents during his lifetime
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Dalén, Gustaf |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Physicist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 30, 1869 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Stenstorp, Västergötland, Sweden |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 9, 1937 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Lidingo, Stockholm, Sweden |
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