When was incandescent light invented

He was neither the first nor the only person trying to invent an incandescent light bulb. However, Edison is often credited with the invention because his version was able to outstrip the earlier versions because of a combination of three factors: an effective incandescent material, a higher vacuum than others were able to achieve and a high resistance that made power distribution from a centralized source economically viable.

In , Humphry Davy invented the first electric light. He experimented with electricity and invented an electric battery. When he connected wires to his battery and a piece of carbon, the carbon glowed, producing light. His invention was known as the Electric Arc lamp. More notably, in , British scientist Warren de la Rue enclosed a coiled platinum filament in a vacuum tube and passed an electric current through it. The design was based on the concept that the high melting point of platinum would allow it to operate at high temperatures and that the evacuated chamber would contain fewer gas molecules to react with the platinum, improving its longevity.

Although an efficient design, the cost of the platinum made it impractical for commercial production. Such was the importance of the light bulb - or lamp, as it is known to engineers - that the expression has entered into the language as a synonym for invention. Yet its road to supremacy was an untidy street fight dominated by one man - Thomas Alva Edison - who, for all his visionary prowess and business acumen, could not have predicted that a century later, his development of an idea that lit up the world would be rendered virtually obsolete by the emergence of light-emitting diode technology.

This is due to the combination of three critical factors Edison got right simultaneously: the incandescent material, high vacuum levels and high resistance. It was the last of these three that Edison really understood better than his predecessors. With high resistance, heat and therefore light would build up in the element instead of the feed wires coming from remote electric generators.

By , there was a standard connector at the electrical end, where the bulb could now be screwed into a socket and could be switched on and off. It was by standing on the shoulders of those who went before him that Edison could see so far into the electric light future. Realising that platinum was too expensive a commodity to be used in electric lighting, he pursued the avenue of a carbon-coated bamboo filament anecdotally, he had the idea of using bamboo from observing his fishing rod while on a field trip to watch an eclipse.

He also wheeled and dealed, scooping up patents of other engineers, while forming strategic alliances, especially with his British competitor, Joseph Swan who, in many ways, was a player of equal importance, whose house was the first to be lit by a light bulb.

Edison secured substantial financial backing from both the Vanderbilt family - the richest in America, having made their money in shipping and the railway - as well as the corporate financier J.

Yet it was mostly by sheer visionary ingenuity that the man with more than a thousand patents to his name became the driving force behind lighting up the 20th century. For much of the 20th century it seemed the incandescent light bulb had no serious challenger. Yet with growing pressure to improve energy efficiency, in the closing decades the writing was on the wall.

He could hardly have expected that, within a century, the incandescent light bulb to which he had contributed so much would be turning night into day. It would illuminate our lives, extend office hours and make football stadiums glow in the dark. It would provide security and illumination for public buildings and searchlights to guide wartime anti-aircraft weaponry. Roads would be lit to accommodate the relentless rise of the automobile and night-ready airports would revolutionise international freight.

With the dawn of the 20th century came an unprecedented opportunity for developers of the newly established incandescent light bulb. Applications were limitless, ranging from the extremely modest such as bicycle headlamps to national infrastructure such as road lighting. The field was open and the market was soon awash with manufacturers hoping to cash in on the gold rush in artificial lighting. Yet, by Christmas , household names such as Osram, Philips and General Electric were becoming nervous.

This was because the market, while booming, was becoming unpredictable. When he first started, financial contributions came from wealthy investors at the time and from J. In , the first generating station was ready for use on Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan. As time passed, Edison was above other competitors in his enterprise, especially when he developed a less expensive bulb. Over 3, designs for bulbs were tested in his laboratory in New Jersey. He later filed for a patent for his electric lamps of carbon filament.

In his patent, he added all materials useful for the filament. They include cotton, wood, and linen. After filing for a license, he spent more time testing over plants and looking for the material that would burn for long. In testing different plants, he and his team discovered bamboo filament could last for over hours. His invention became prominent until the early s when the bamboo filaments were replaced with lasting materials.

One of the reasons why Edison was the known inventor of the incandescent bulb was because he commercialized his invention, unlike others that encountered setbacks. His company also invented other electrical appliances like toasters, electric irons. His company also contributed immensely to the spread of electricity when they developed a power transmission infrastructure useful for households. The success of the new company was never halted. In , they invented the halogen lamp, and in , they started making LED lighting.

All of these lightings became a massive success over the years. Restrictions were made concerning incandescent bulbs, and it looked like the production was coming to an end, paving the way for energy-efficient bulbs. This material appeared to be able to last for well over hours. So similar was Edison's own invention that Swan decided to sue Edison for copyright infringement.

British courts ruled against Edison and as punishment Edison had to make Swan a partner in his electric company. Later, even the U. But, despite all this, Edison would forever be remembered as the inventor of the light bulb. Thomas Edison would go on to become one of the most prolific inventors and businessman of the 19th and 20th Century. By the time of his death, he had acquired a mind-boggling 2, patents with alone for electric lighting and power.

Whilst Thomas Edison does, rightfully so, get some 'heat' for 'stealing' many of Nikola Tesla's inventions and developments, the light bulb is not one of them. In fact, Tesla spent little, if any, of his time, developing incandescent electrical lighting of any kind.

Tesla did, however, make contributions to the development of arc lighting. He also conducted some interesting experiments into the possibility of wireless lighting. But claims regarding Edison's own invention of the light bulb, as we have seen, is arguable. But what cannot be denied is the fact that Edison, unlike all inventors of the light bulb before him, was able to create a commercially viable and reliable design.

For this reason, and his business acumen in general, it would be Edison's design and Joseph Swan's that would become ubiquitous around the world. By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. By Christopher McFadden. Follow Us on. Sponsored Stories.