In the 1800s, canaries were used to prevent a possible and very serious problem that could arise in mining. This problem was carbon monoxide poisoning.
So what connection might such a device have to carbon monoxide poisoning? How does it work? What’s the deal with the canary? Let’s look at the answers to all these confusing questions together.
We take a journey back to the 1800s to find out what this device called canary rejuvenator is.
Physiologist John Haldane, who went to the front to identify the poisonous gas used by the Germans during World War I and invented the first gas mask, is also the inventor of the canary resuscitator. The device was built after the Tylorstown mine exploded in 1896. The explosion was caused by a buildup of carbon monoxide.
Even small amounts of poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas, can be detected by canaries. Thus, any inkling of danger causes the canary to react.
So how does this strange device work?
The circular door is kept open and becomes a grate to prevent the canary from escaping. When the bird shakes and falls on its perch and shows signs of carbon monoxide poisoning, the door is closed and a valve is opened. Thus, the oxygen in the upper cylinder is released to the canary’s location and the canary is revived.
The miners, who receive the signal of carbon monoxide gas, which can easily form underground after a mine fire or explosion, thanks to the canaries, immediately evacuate the mine and work begins for underground safety.
Miners were making friends with canaries.
After a while, canaries became the closest friends of miners who spent most of their lives in mines. They saw them as if they were pets. They were seriously saddened when a time came when this canary method would no longer be used.
Later, canaries were replaced by technology.
In 1986, canaries were retired and gas detectors developed by modern technology began to be used. Miners were able to see the size of the gas on the screen thanks to the detectors they held in their hands.
The end of the canary era in mining, as it is not ethically right for animals to be used as test materials or test subjects in dangerous conditions, is once again a sign of “Good thing technology has developed!” It makes you say.
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