Grandiosa model 54
INCANDESCENT-LAMPS
An incandescent lamp consisted of a metal wire in a
glass bulb without oxygen. An electric current heated
the metal wire and made it glow white-hot while the
lack of oxygen prevented the wire from burning. The
main application for incandescent lamps was
illumination but, relative to the amount of light they
produced, incandescent lamps produced an even
greater amount of infrared radiation. This is why
many infrared radiators for therapeutic applications
were based on the principal of an incandescent
lamp. For straight light therapies incandescent lamps
were not very efficient unless the excess of heat
could be expelled easily like in hand-held devices for
local treatment. Incandescent lamps made of
coloured glass or equipped with coloured screen
filters as with the Grandiosa model 54 on display
here, were used for colour therapies.
