= Gustaf Dalén
{c}
{title2=1869–1937}
{wiki}
= Nils Gustaf Dalén
{c}
{synonym}
= N. G. Dalén
{c}
{synonym}
A <mechanical engineer> whose work connected gas lighting to automatic operation. Chalmers records his mechanical-engineering qualification in 1896.https://www.chalmers.se/en/about-chalmers/alumni/wall-of-fame/[Gustaf Dalén, Mechanical Engineering 1896: qualification and engineering career]{ref} After an accident left him blind in 1912, he returned to AGA in 1913 and continued leading the company.<Gustaf Dalén – Beacon Lighting by Tekniska museet>[The accident; Willpower and optimism: loss of sight, return and subsequent engineering work]{ref}
The <sun valve> links <radiometric absorptance>, <thermal expansion> and mechanical motion to a useful decision: whether a beacon should receive its main gas supply. The <Dalén light> combines this daylight response with repeated flashes. The <Nobel Prize in Physics in 1912> recognized his automatic regulators for lighthouse and buoy lighting.
\Image[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Nils_Gustaf_Dal%C3%A9n.jpg]
{title=Portrait of <Gustaf Dalén>, via Wikimedia Commons}
{width=240}
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