Is a lighthouse light always on, but we don't see it during the day??

Question

Sounds like a silly question, does someone turn the light on when it gets dark ?? I know they have lighthouse keepers but is that old now,

Answer 1

In respect to the above answers, I will say that there are still many lighthouses that are still operating under human intervention, most are probably remote, on Islands, atolls etc and not on the mainland or headland..
They are operational 24 hours a day, and even in daylight they can be seen flashing, if you are in their proximity..

Every lighthouse has a certain, code, which is the flash, so that navigators know where they are, this is a modern thing, as years ago it was purely to stay away or come in..

I worked as a deck hand on a cray boat for a few years, and I learnt these things as part of my indoctrination, I finished up as the #2 of my skipper's boat..
Blessed Be.. )O(

Answer 2

There are a select few that are 100% operational. However, most lighthouses are turned on for tourist purposes only. And then there are some who are no longer lighthouses, but just general dwellings. Lights of towers only have to be on when the weather is bad (foggy conditions and what not). Sailors used the daymarks (paint schemes) to know where they were and the lights, as previously stated, flashed a certain way, so they knew where they were at night. For instance, Cape May Lighthouse flashed once every fifteen seconds. The next lighthouse north, Hereford Inlet in Wildwood, NJ would flash say once every twenty (I forget what it was). The lighthouse in Atlantic City (Absecon Lighthouse) had a steady beam straight out - no flashing. Oh, and Absecon Lighthouse has a timer for the tourists at night. The light is on for about five hours, since no one stays there at night - except when there's a Keeper Sleeper for schools and organizations like the Girl Scouts. Most lighthouses that are still in operation are the shoal and cliff lighthouses, and they are managed/manned by the United States Coast Guard (Hawaii ones especially). Shoal lighthouses are those found in the Delaware Bay (Fourteen Foot Bank for example). The foghorns are kept on at all times and their lights are on all the time.

Answer 3

Lighthouses work 24 hours a day. The light can be seen during the day. There are few lighthouse keepers these days, most of the lights are automatic.

Answer 4

Here in the UK, all lighthouses are now automated, and the light is not on during the day.

I think most of them are now on a timer system, so the light is set to come on at nautical dusk.



Trinity House maintains 71 lighthouses ranging from isolated rock towers like the Eddystone to mainland towers like Southwold lighthouse.

All lighthouses have been automated since November 1998, when the UK's last manned lighthouse, North Foreland in Kent, was converted to automatic operation.

Lighthouse automation began as far back as 1910 thanks to an ingenious invention of Gustaf Dalen. His sun-valve was fitted in a number of lighthouses powered by acetylene gas. The vital component was a black metal rod, which was suspended vertically and connected to the gas supply. As it absorbed the sun's heat, the rod expanded downwards, cutting off the gas during the day.

Automation in the modern context began in the early 1980s, made possible firstly by the construction of lantern top helipads at remote rock lighthouses, to enable the rapid transfer of technicians to a lighthouse in the event of a breakdown - and secondly, by the development of remote control technology which enables all lighthouses and lightvessels to be monitored and controlled from the Trinity House Central Planning Unit, in Harwich, Essex.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_House#Lighthouse_Stock

Answer 5

A lot of lighthouses are automated now. They are not all on during the day. There is a lighthouse in Western Australia that's light is off during the day, but it's mirrors still rotate. The mirrors are so big and powerful that if they didn't turn the sun reflecting off them would cause a bush fire in the surrounding area.