Originally Posted by cyccommute
Calcium carbide is a "salt" of acetylene. Add water, the water pulls off the calcium ions and makes calcium hydroxide and acetylene. The acetylene is directed to a jet that is ignited and, viola, light! The more water dripped on the carbide the more acetylene is produced and the lamp gets brighter.
Right, which is why I wonder if it was legal. Carbide lamps are self-contained. This had some sort of fuel cell with a rubber hose running from the cell in the back to the lamp in the front. I suspect that there was no carbide involved but straight up bottled acetylene. The fire marshal might have something to say about that.