Trystan Casey
The invention of the first electric lightbulb was the culmination of many inventors' work over almost two centuries. The first recorded demonstration of the electronic production of visible light was by England-born scholar Ebenezer Kinnersley in 1761. However, the first practical application of electricity as a light source is attributed to Scottish inventor James Lindsay in 1835. The quest for a practical, long-burning electric light occupied scientists for decades, with British inventors demonstrating the possibility of electric light with the arc lamp before Thomas Edison patented his incandescent lightbulb in 1879. Edison's design changes and choice of materials, such as a carbon filament, created a reliable, safe, and practical electric lamp that paved the way for the universal domestic use of electric light.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Inventor | Thomas Edison |
| Year | 1879 |
| Location | Menlo Park, New Jersey |
| Patent | Granted in 1880 |
| Materials | Platinum filament, glass vacuum bulb |
| Competition | Joseph Swan, Alexander Lodygin, Ebenezer Kinnersley, James Lindsay, Marcellin Jobard, Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, Moses G. Farmer, Woodward and Evans |
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What You'll Learn
Thomas Edison's 1880 patent
While Thomas Edison is often credited as the inventor of the lightbulb, the electric lamp was first demonstrated to be possible by British inventors using the arc lamp. Davy produced the world's first electric arc lamp in 1802.
Edison's subsequent improvements to the lightbulb, however, were revolutionary. On January 27, 1880, Edison received a patent for his "electric-lamp". This patent was an improvement on pre-existing electric lamps, rather than an entirely new invention. Edison's design changes and the materials he used, such as a carbon filament, made his lamp reliable, safe, and practical.
Edison's incandescent lamp paved the way for the universal domestic use of electric light. He also developed a suite of inventions that made the use of lightbulbs practical. For example, he modelled his lighting technology on the existing gas lighting system and demonstrated that electricity could be distributed from a centrally located generator. Edison also developed the first electric meter to track how much electricity each customer was using.
Edison's work on the lightbulb was part of a prolific career as an inventor. He accumulated 2,332 patents worldwide for his inventions, 1,093 of which were in the United States. Edison's most famous inventions include the phonograph, the kinetoscope, the dictaphone, the incandescent lightbulb, and the motion picture camera.
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Prior inventors
Although Thomas Edison is often credited as the inventor of the lightbulb, several inventors contributed to the development of this revolutionary technology.
The first concept of the lightbulb with accompanying proof appeared in the early 1760s, thanks to Ebenezer Kinnersley, an England-born scholar at the College of Philadelphia. Kinnersley successfully demonstrated electroincandescence, or the production of visible light through the application of electric current.
In 1802, Sir Humphrey Davy invented the world's first electric arc lamp, which produced a bright arc of light between two carbon rods. This was followed by the work of Belgian lithographer Marcellin Jobard, who, in 1838, invented an incandescent light bulb with a vacuum atmosphere using a carbon filament. However, his invention was never produced commercially.
In the 1850s, British physicist and chemist Joseph Swan began working with carbonized paper filaments in an evacuated glass bulb. By 1860, he had demonstrated a working device, but it had a short lifetime and was an inefficient source of light due to the lack of a good vacuum and an adequate electricity supply.
In 1872, Russian inventor Alexander Lodygin invented an incandescent light bulb and obtained a Russian patent in 1874. His design used two carbon rods of diminished section in a hermetically sealed glass receiver filled with nitrogen. This allowed the current to be passed to the second carbon rod when the first one was consumed.
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Electric arc lamp
The arc lamp was one of the first electric lights. It was invented by Sir Humphry Davy in 1807, using a battery of 2,000 cells to create a 100-millimetre arc between two charcoal sticks. This was known as an electric arc lamp, named for the bright arc of light emitted between its two carbon rods. The carbon arc lamp's spectrum is the closest to that of sunlight of any lamp. The harsh, intense output of these lamps usually limited their use to lighting large areas.
In 1802, Humphry Davy produced the world's first electric lamp by connecting voltaic piles to charcoal electrodes. This was soon followed by the Yablochkov candle, an arc lamp invented by the Russian engineer Paul Yablochkov, which was used for street lighting in Paris and other European cities from 1878.
The arc lamp was a significant development in the history of electric lighting, demonstrating that electric light was possible. However, it had its limitations. The light emitted by the lamp changes as its electrical characteristics change with temperature and time. The lamp can reach temperatures of several thousand degrees Celsius, and the outer glass envelope can reach 500 degrees Celsius. This meant that the bulb needed to cool down sufficiently before being handled or serviced. Additionally, arc lamps were soon superseded by safer, more efficient, versatile, and easier-to-maintain incandescent and gas-discharge lamps.
Despite these limitations, arc lamps are still used in certain applications where a close approximation of sunlight is required, such as testing materials, paints, and coatings for wear, fading, or deterioration. The high temperatures generated by the lamp can vaporize the carbon rods, creating a pit in the anode's surface, which then glows very brightly. This has made arc lamps useful in specific contexts, such as testing spacecraft materials that will be exposed to sunlight in orbits closer to the Sun than Earth's.
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Commercialising the lightbulb
While Thomas Edison is often credited as the inventor of the lightbulb, it was a series of small improvements on the ideas of previous inventors that led to the light bulbs we use today. Before Edison, British inventors were demonstrating that electric light was possible with the arc lamp.
In 1878, Joseph Swan, a British physicist and chemist, gave public demonstrations of his first successful incandescent filament electric lamp. However, the lack of a good vacuum and an adequate supply of electricity resulted in a short lifetime for the bulb and an inefficient source of light.
Edison's key contribution was in developing a practical and inexpensive lightbulb. He and his team of researchers tested more than 3,000 designs for bulbs between 1878 and 1880. Edison's design changes and the materials he used, such as a carbon filament and better vacuums, made him the first to develop a truly commercially viable lightbulb. He received a patent for his "electric lamp" in January 1880, paving the way for the universal domestic use of electric light.
Edison demonstrated that electricity could be distributed from a centrally located generator through a series of wires and tubes. He also developed the first commercial power utility, called the Pearl Street Station in lower Manhattan. To track how much electricity each customer was using, Edison developed the first electric meter.
In addition to improving the bulb, Edison developed a suite of inventions that made the use of light bulbs practical. He worked with Joseph Swan to form Edison-Swan United, which became one of the world's largest manufacturers of lightbulbs.
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The first modern lightbulb
The invention of the first modern lightbulb was a milestone in human history. While Thomas Edison is often credited as the inventor of the lightbulb, the development of this technology was a complex process involving numerous inventors and scientists. The journey towards the creation of the first modern lightbulb spanned several decades and countries, with each contribution building upon the other.
One of the earliest recorded demonstrations of electroincandescence, the production of visible light through electric current, was performed by Ebenezer Kinnersley in 1761. Kinnersley, an England-born scholar at the College of Philadelphia, conducted experiments to understand the usage of electricity to generate heat. This early work laid the foundation for further exploration and innovation in the field of electric lighting.
In the following decades, several inventors made significant contributions towards the development of the lightbulb. In 1802, Sir Humphrey Davy invented the world's first electric arc lamp, which produced a bright arc of light between two carbon rods. This invention demonstrated the potential for electricity as a light source. Subsequently, in 1835, Scottish inventor James Lindsay created a practical electric light, coining the term "incandescent light bulb". Lindsay's invention produced a light source comparable to that of a candle, showcasing the potential for electricity to provide illumination.
The race to develop a practical and inexpensive lightbulb intensified with the contributions of British physicist and chemist Joseph Swan and, of course, Thomas Edison. Swan began working with carbonized paper filaments in an evacuated glass bulb as early as 1850. By 1860, he had a working device, but it had a short lifetime due to challenges with vacuum technology and electricity supply. Edison, on the other hand, conducted rigorous experimentation, testing thousands of designs and materials for his lightbulb. He received a patent for his electric lamp in 1880, incorporating improvements such as the use of a carbon filament, which made his design reliable, safe, and practical.
However, the honour of creating the first modern lightbulb goes to Sandor Just and Franjo Hanaman, who, in 1904, constructed and patented the first lightbulb in Austro-Hungary. Their lightbulb consisted of a glass container filled with argon and a tungsten (wolfram) filament, resembling the design of the modern lightbulbs we use today.
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Frequently asked questions
The invention of the first electric lightbulb cannot be credited to one inventor but was a series of small improvements on the ideas of previous inventors. However, Thomas Edison is often credited as the inventor of the lightbulb. Edison received a patent for his incandescent lamp in 1880, paving the way for the universal domestic use of electric light.
Some of the previous inventors who contributed to the development of the lightbulb include Ebenezer Kinnersley, who first demonstrated the concept of electroincandescence in 1761, Alexander Lodygin, who invented an incandescent lightbulb in 1872 and obtained a Russian patent in 1874, and Joseph Swan, a British physicist and chemist who founded an electrical lighting company in England.
Early inventors of the lightbulb faced challenges such as creating a good vacuum and finding an adequate supply of electricity, as seen in the efforts of Joseph Swan whose early lightbulb had a short lifetime and was inefficient.
Various materials were experimented with in the early designs of the lightbulb. For example, Thomas Edison tested over 3,000 designs for bulbs between 1878 and 1880, and his patent listed materials such as cotton, linen, and wood as possible filaments. Other materials used in early lightbulbs include carbon, platinum, and nitrogen.
The invention of the lightbulb revolutionized the way people lived and worked, transforming the United States into an industrial superpower. It also led to advancements in power generation and distribution, with Edison himself contributing to these advancements by developing the first commercial power utility in lower Manhattan.
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