Wiktor Wise
The electric light bulb has been developed over time by many inventors, but Thomas Edison is often credited with its invention. Edison patented his incandescent light bulb in 1879 and began commercializing it in 1880. However, the first constant electric light was demonstrated in 1835, and inventors like Joseph Swan in the UK and Heinrich Geissler and Julius Plücker in Germany also made significant contributions to the development of the electric light bulb.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of invention | The first constant electric light was demonstrated in 1835. Humphry Davy invented the first practical electric light, the carbon arc, around 1805. |
| Inventor | The invention of the lightbulb can't be credited to one inventor. However, Thomas Edison is one of the most well-known inventors of all time and is known for his work on the lightbulb. |
| Other inventors | Heinrich Geissler, Julius Plücker, Joseph Swan, Warren de la Rue, William Greener, Henry Woodward, Mathew Evans, Alessandro Volta |
| Date of patent | Thomas Edison first patented his lightbulb in 1879 and again in 1880. |
| Other dates | The Savoy Theatre in London was the first theatre and public building in the world to be lit by electricity, in 1881. The first street in the world to be lit by an incandescent lamp was Mosley Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom in 1880. |
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What You'll Learn
Thomas Edison's incandescent lightbulb
The incandescent lightbulb is often associated with Thomas Edison, who is considered one of history's most prolific inventors. However, it is important to note that the development of the incandescent lightbulb was a culmination of efforts by numerous inventors over time.
Edison was born in Ohio in 1847 and received most of his education at home, where he set up a laboratory in the basement, conducting various experiments. In 1875, he established another laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where he began serious research on developing a practical incandescent lamp in 1878.
Edison's initial experiments with the incandescent lamp began in 1879, and by January of that year, he had created his first high-resistance, incandescent electric light. This early version used a thin platinum filament in a glass vacuum bulb, which delayed the filament from melting, but it only burned for a few hours. To improve the bulb's longevity, Edison tested thousands of other materials for the filament, including various plant fibres and metals.
Edison eventually returned to using a carbon filament, and on October 22, 1879, he successfully tested an incandescent lightbulb that lasted for 13.5 hours. He continued refining the design, and by November 4, 1879, he filed for a US patent for an electric lamp using a carbon filament.
Edison's work with the incandescent lightbulb was significant in making electric lighting accessible and affordable for people worldwide. However, it is worth mentioning that he built upon the work of previous inventors, such as the Canadian patent filed by Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans in 1874, which Edison purchased the rights to in 1879. Additionally, a Black inventor named Lewis Latimer further refined Edison's design, making the carbon filament more durable and improving its manufacturability.
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Early electric lights
The development of the electric light bulb was a series of small improvements on the ideas of previous inventors. The first constant electric light was demonstrated in 1835, and over the next few decades, scientists around the world worked on the incandescent lamp.
In the late 19th century, inventors sought to "'sub-divide' electric light to make it smaller and weaker than the existing arc lamps, which were too bright for small spaces. In 1840, Warren de la Rue created one of the world's first electric light bulbs by enclosing a platinum coil in a vacuum tube and passing an electric current through it. This design was efficient, but the cost of platinum made it impractical for commercial use. In 1846, English inventor William Greener made significant contributions to early electric lighting with his lamp, laying the groundwork for future innovations.
In 1874, a Canadian patent was filed by Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans for a lamp consisting of carbon rods mounted in a nitrogen-filled glass cylinder. They were unsuccessful at commercializing their lamp and sold the rights to Thomas Edison in 1879. In 1875, Edison built a laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, where he worked on at least 3,000 different theories to develop an efficient incandescent lamp. By January 1879, he had built his first high-resistance, incandescent electric light. This design used a thin platinum filament in a glass vacuum bulb, which delayed the filament from melting. The first successful test was on 22 October 1879 and lasted 13.5 hours.
In the early 1880s, Joseph Swan in the UK and Thomas Edison in the US independently developed functional incandescent lamps. Swan's lamps used a carbon rod from an arc lamp, which had low resistance and required very large conductors to supply the necessary current, so they were not commercially practical. However, they demonstrated the possibilities of incandescent lighting. In 1880, Mosley Street in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, became the first street in the world to be lit by incandescent lamps. In 1881, the Savoy Theatre in London became the first theatre and public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity using Swan incandescent lightbulbs. In 1882, Edison demonstrated that electricity could be distributed from a centrally located generator through a series of wires and tubes. He also developed the first electric meter to track customer usage.
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The first electric battery
The development of the lightbulb was a series of small improvements on the ideas of previous inventors. The first constant electric light was demonstrated in 1835, and the first practical electric light, the carbon arc lamp, was invented by Humphry Davy around 1805. This was followed by the Geissler tube in the 19th century, invented by two Germans: glassblower Heinrich Geissler and physician Julius Plücker.
In 1840, Warren de la Rue created one of the world's first electric light bulbs by enclosing a platinum coil in a vacuum tube and passing an electric current through it. Although it was an efficient design, the cost of the platinum made it impractical for commercial use. In 1846, English inventor William Greener made significant contributions to early electric lighting with his lamp, laying the groundwork for future innovations.
In 1874, a Canadian patent was filed by Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans for a lamp consisting of carbon rods mounted in a nitrogen-filled glass cylinder. They sold the rights to Thomas Edison in 1879, who began commercializing his incandescent light bulb. Edison was one of the most well-known inventors of all time and patented 1,093 of his inventions before his death in 1931. In 1878, he began serious research into developing a practical incandescent lamp, and his first successful test was on 22 October 1879, lasting 13.5 hours.
However, it is important to note that the development of the light bulb was not solely the work of Edison. In the late 19th century, inventors in Britain and around the world were also working on the incandescent lamp. For example, Joseph Swan in the UK independently developed functional incandescent lamps, and his house, Underhill, Low Fell, Gateshead, was the first in the world to be lit by a light bulb. The Savoy Theatre in London was the first theatre and public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity using Swan incandescent lightbulbs in 1881.
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Arc lamps
The arc lamp was one of the first electric lights, invented by Sir Humphry Davy in 1807. He created a 100-millimetre (4-inch) arc between two charcoal sticks using a battery of 2,000 cells. Arc lamps produce light by maintaining an electric arc across a gap between two conductors, usually carbon rods. The light comes from the heated ends of the conductors as well as from the arc itself. The temperature of the arc in an arc lamp can reach several thousand degrees Celsius, and the outer glass envelope can reach 500 degrees Celsius. Due to the high temperatures involved, one must ensure that the bulb has cooled sufficiently before servicing it.
Carbon-arc lamps were eventually replaced by safer, more efficient, versatile, and easier-to-maintain incandescent and gas-discharge lamps. However, carbon-arc lamps are still used in certain applications where a close approximation of sunlight is required, such as testing materials, paints, coatings, and spacecraft materials for wear, fading, or deterioration. The xenon arc lamp, which produces a high-intensity white light, has also replaced carbon arcs in many applications, such as movie projectors and searchlights.
The common fluorescent lamp is a type of low-pressure mercury arc lamp, and ultraviolet lamps can also be of the arc type.
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Fluorescent lamps
The concept of fluorescent lighting dates back to the 1890s when Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla experimented with a prototype that, despite initial success, was impractical for prolonged use. Peter Cooper Hewitt is credited with laying down the blueprint for manufacturing fluorescent lamps on a mass scale and in an economically feasible way. However, it wasn't until the mid-1920s that work began again in earnest on developing a commercially viable fluorescent lamp.
In 1926, Jacques Risler, a French engineer, developed a coating for the inside of a fluorescent light that absorbed the light produced by mercury and produced a visible light with a soothing hue. This innovation gave fluorescent lighting a more defined shape. However, it was not until 1934 that a group of scientists at GE, including George Inman, Richard Thayer, Willard A. Roberts, and Eugene Lemmers, produced what we know today as the fluorescent lamp.
In 1938, GE introduced the MAZDA line of fluorescent lamps to the market, with lights emitting colours such as red, gold, green, blue, pink, daylight, and white. The T12 and T8 models provided varying wattages, enhancing the fluorescent lamp's design and utility. The T-5 fluorescent lamps, designed in the 1990s, are even more energy-efficient than their predecessors, making fluorescent lighting a superior alternative to incandescent bulbs.
Fluorescent lighting has been a popular and cost-effective source of lighting for residential and commercial spaces. Its energy efficiency and longevity have made it a viable alternative to incandescent bulbs. However, with the advancements and increasing adoption of LED technology, fluorescent lighting has seen a decline in popularity. LEDs are more energy-efficient, have a longer lifespan, are more environmentally friendly, and offer better light quality than fluorescent lamps.
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Frequently asked questions
The first electric light bulb was invented in 1805 by Humphry Davy. This was known as the carbon arc and was the first practical electric light.
The incandescent lightbulb was developed by Thomas Edison. He filed his first patent application for "Improvement in Electric Lights" on 14 October 1878 and continued to improve the design.
Yes, in 1835, the first constant electric light was demonstrated, and over the next 40 years, scientists around the world worked on the incandescent lamp. In 1840, Warren de la Rue created one of the world's first electric light bulbs by enclosing a platinum coil in a vacuum tube.
Yes, Thomas Edison was one of the most well-known inventors of all time. Aside from the lightbulb, he invented the microphone, telephone receiver, universal stock ticker, phonograph, kinetoscope, storage battery, electric pen, and mimeograph.
The first public building to be lit by electricity was the Savoy Theatre in the City of Westminster, London, in 1881.
