Disenchanted Night

The industrialization of light is not just the matter how the technological developments necessary for mass producing light, but it also about the societal impact of high quality light sources. Disenchanted Night deals with the technology aspect mainly in the first chapter and the several following chapters look at societal changes in the street, living room etc.

In the development of light from oil lamps to gas and later to electricity it was necessary to change the mindset around what light sources were. An oil lamp or candle is independent in a way gas and electricity are not. The latter form a system of light, where fuel/energy distribution and generation are physically separated and shared among many.

Gas and electric light, especially the incandescent kinds, are also highly abstract kinds of light with no visible flame or fuel. The book makes a frequent comparison to the community around a campfire — it is a room in the darkness created by a light that is close and physical. Modern light offers almost endless options, but turning night to day is perhaps not necessarily what we are looking for.