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Is a "gas burner" something like a "stove"? room=space?

She took up her station against the drawing-room wall, with her arms extended as if she were crucified. Then three gas-burners were turned on to their full extent in a room about sixteen feet square. The effect upon Katie King was marvellous.

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    Please provide the source of this quotation. If you can link to an online version that would be great, thanks.
    – James K
    Commented Jun 15, 2020 at 13:49
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    @WeatherVane: Oh, okay. But that simply confirms my belief that ACD's tracts on Spiritualism aren't particularly suitable material for learning either "natural philosophy" / science or English!
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jun 15, 2020 at 16:40
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    @FumbleFingersReinstateMonica I quite agree, and the 19th century writing style isn't really suitable for English learners either IMO.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Jun 15, 2020 at 16:42
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    @WeatherVane: Yes, that's my main point. I know it must be irritating to the OP here that I have no time for the subject matter, but it's really the writing style that makes it unsuitable. It's not even that his style is truly "Victorian" (I think most of his literary output was after Queen Victoria died) - it's almost deliberately convoluted / antiquated, for the sake of effect. (An effect mostly lost on me, I'm afraid! :)
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jun 15, 2020 at 16:49
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    @FumbleFingersReinstateMonica OT sorry but it was only when I knew of ACD's interest that I realised it could be the source of an aspect of his Holmes character. Mediums are experts in "cold reading" (which is what makes them seem marvellous to the gullible) and that is exactly what Holmes does: deduces a large amount of possibly true information from whatever clues are available.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Jun 15, 2020 at 16:59

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Gas burners - still widely found in many parts of the world - are portable heaters that work off bottles of gas. The bottles are placed inside the device and, when the gas is lighted, the flame heats a grid at the front. They generally have several settings to control the amount of heat given off.

Because these heaters consume oxygen and have led to the deaths of many people in small, unventilated rooms, they have been widely prohibited. Newer models come with chimney stacks that have to be vented outside of the building. In this way they draw in oxygen to replace that being consumed.

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    The gas burners in question are used for lighting, given they are located in the drawing room. I took the trouble to Google the text and it's taken from the works of Arthur Conan Doyle and the ´preceding paragraph refers to lighting.
    – Bruce Murray
    Commented Jun 15, 2020 at 14:35

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