Who Invented the Light Bulb? Who Invented the Light Bulb? By Elizabeth Palermo, Associate Editor | February 15, 2014 12:25am ET MORE Thomas Edison is usually credited with the invention of the light bulb, but the famous American inventor wasn't the only one who contributed to the development of this revolutionary technology. Many notable figures are also remembered for their work with electric batteries, lamps and the creation of the first incandescent bulbs. Early research & developments The story of the light bulb begins long before Edison patented the first commercially successful bulb in 1879. In 1800, Italian inventor Alessandro Volta developed the first practical method of generating electricity, the voltaic pile. Made of alternating discs of zinc and copper — interspersed with layers of cardboards soaked in salt water — the pile conducted electricity when a copper wire was connected at either end. While actually a predecessor of the modern battery , Volta's glowing copper wire is also considered to be one of the earliest manifestations of incandescent lighting.

Not long after Volta presented his discovery of a continuous source of electricity to the Royal Society in London, an English inventor named Humphrey Davy produced the world's first electric lamp by connecting voltaic piles to charcoal electrodes. Davy's 1802 invention was known as an electric arc lamp, named for the bright arc of light emitted between its two carbon rods. While Davy's arc lamp was certainly an improvement on Volta's stand-alone piles, it still wasn't a very practical source of lighting. This rudimentary lamp burned out quickly and was much too bright for use in a home or workspace. But the principles behind Davy's arc light were used throughout the 1800s in the development of many other electric lamps and bulbs. In 1840, British scientist Warren de la Rue developed an efficiently designed light bulb using a coiled platinum filament in place of copper, but the high cost of platinum kept the bulb from becoming a commercial success. And in 1848, Englishman William Staite improved the longevity of conventional arc lamps by developing a clockwork mechanism that regulated the movement of the lamps' quick-to-erode carbon rods.

But the cost of the batteries used to power Staite's lamps put a damper on the inventor's commercial ventures. Joseph Swan In 1850, English chemist Joseph Swan solved the cost-effectiveness problem of previous inventors by developing a light bulb that used carbonized paper filaments in place of ones made of platinum. Like earlier renditions of the light bulb, Swan's filaments were placed in a vacuum tube to minimize their exposure to oxygen , extending their lifespan. Unfortunately for Swan, the vacuum pumps of his day were not efficient as they are now, and his first prototype for a cost-effective bulb never went to market. While Swan waited for the development of quality vacuum pumps, an American inventor, Charles Francis Brush, was busy developing an electric arc lighting system that would eventually be adopted throughout the United States and Europe during the 1880s. While not truly a light bulb, Brush's lighting systems could be used wherever bright lights were needed — such as in streetlights and inside commercial buildings. To power his systems, Brush developed dynamos — or electric generators — similar to those used that would one day be used to power Edison's electric lamps.

In 1874, Canadian inventors Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans filed a patent for an electric lamp with different-sized carbon rods held between electrodes in a glass cylinder filled with nitrogen. The pair tried, unsuccessfully, to commercialize their lamps but eventually sold their patent to Edison in 1879. The first practical incandescent light bulb Edison and his team of researchers in Edison's laboratory in Menlo Park, N.J., tested more than 3,000 designs for bulbs between 1878 and 1880. In November 1879, Edison filed a patent for an electric lamp with a carbon filament. The patent listed several materials that might be used for the filament, including cotton, linen and wood. Edison spent the next year finding the perfect filament for his new bulb, testing more than 6,000 plants to determine which material would burn the longest. Several months after the 1879 patent was granted, Edison and his team discovered that a carbonized bamboo filament could burn for more than 1,200 hours.

Bamboo was used for the filaments in Edison's bulbs until it began to be replaced by longer-lasting materials in the 1880s and early 1900s. [Related: What's the Longest Burning Light Bulb? ] In 1882, Lewis Howard Latimer, one of Edison's researchers, patented a more efficient way of manufacturing carbon filaments. And in 1903, Willis R. Whitney invented a treatment for these filaments that allowed them to burn bright without darkening the insides of their glass bulbs. Tungsten filaments William David Coolidge, an American physicist with General Electric, improved the company's method of manufacturing tungsten filaments in 1910. Tungsten , which has the highest melting point of any chemical element, was known by Edison to be an excellent material for light bulb filaments, but the machinery needed to produce super-fine tungsten wire was not available in the late nineteenth century. Tungsten is still the primary material used in incandescent bulb filaments today. The success of Edison's light bulb was followed by the founding of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of New York in 1880.

The company was started with financial contributions from J.P. Morgan and other wealthy investors of the time. The company constructed the first electrical generating stations that would power electrical system and newly patented bulbs. The first generating station was opened in September 1882 on Pearl Street in lower Manhattan. Changing technology Today, lighting choices have expanded and people can choose different types of light bulbs, including compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs work by heating a gas that produces ultraviolet light and LED bulbs use solid-state light-emitting diodes. History of the Light Bulb | Lighting Basics | Bulbs.com Fax 1.508.363.2900 Learn about the humble light bulb, how it came into being and how it has developed over the years. History of the Light Bulb History of the Light Bulb A Brief History of the Light Bulb The electric light, one of the everyday conveniences that most affects our lives, was not “invented” in the traditional sense in 1879 by Thomas Alva Edison, although he could be said to have created the first commercially practical incandescent light. He was neither the first nor the only person trying to invent an incandescent light bulb.

In fact, some historians claim there were over 20 inventors of incandescent lamps prior to Edison’s version. 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. Early Light Bulbs In 1802, 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. And while it produced light, it didn’t produce it for long and was much too bright for practical use. Over the next seven decades, other inventors also created “light bulbs” but no designs emerged for commerical application. More notably, in 1840, 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. In 1850 an English physicist named Joseph Wilson Swan created a “light bulb” by enclosing carbonized paper filaments in an evacuated glass bulb. And by 1860 he had a working prototype, but the lack of a good vacuum and an adequate supply of electricity resulted in a bulb whose lifetime was much too short to be considered an effective prodcer of light. However, in the 1870’s better vacuum pumps became available and Swan continued experiments on light bulbs. In 1878, Swan developed a longer lasting light bulb using a treated cotton thread that also removed the problem of early bulb blackening. On July 24, 1874 a Canadian patent was filed by a Toronto medical electrician named Henry Woodward and a colleague Mathew Evans . They built their lamps with different sizes and shapes of carbon rods held between electrodes in glass cylinders filled with nitrogen .

Woodward and Evans attempted to commercialize their lamp, but were unsuccessful. They eventually sold their patent to Edison in 1879. Thomas Edison and the “first” light bulb In 1878, Thomas Edison began serious research into developing a practical incandescent lamp and on October 14, 1878, Edison filed his first patent application for "Improvement In Electric Lights". However, he continued to test several types of material for metal filaments to improve upon his original design and by Nov 4, 1879, he filed another U.S. patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." Although the patent described several ways of creating the carbon filament including using "cotton and linen thread, wood splints, papers coiled in various ways," it was not until several months after the patent was granted that Edison and his team discovered that a carbonized bamboo filament could last over 1200 hours. This discovery marked the beginning of commerically manufactured light bulbs and in 1880, Thomas Edison’s company, Edison Electric Light Company begain marketing its new product.

Original carbon-filament bulb from Thomas Edison. Other Notable Dates 1906 - The General Electric Company were the first to patent a method of making tungsten filaments for use in incandescent lightbulbs. Edison himself had known tungsten would eventually prove to be the best choice for filaments in incandescent light bulbs, but in his day, the machinery needed to produce the wire in such a fine form was not available. 1910 - William David Coolidge of General Electric improved the process of manufacture to make the longest lasting tungsten filaments. 1920s - The first frosted lightbulb is produced and adjustable power beam bulbs for car headlamps, and neon lighting. 1930s - The thirties saw the invention of little one-time flashbulbs for photography, and the fluorescent tanning lamp. 1940s - The first ’soft light’ incandescent bulbs. 1950s - Quartz glass and halogen light bulb are produced 1980s – New low wattage metal halides are created 1990s – Long life bulbs and Compact Fluorescent bulbs make their debut.

The Future of the “First” Light Bulb? Modern incandescent bulbs are not energy efficient – less than 10% of electrical power supplied to the bulb is converted into visible light. The remaining energy is lost as heat. However these inefficient light bulbs are still widely used today due to many advantages such as: wide, low-cost availability easy incorporation into electrical systems adaptable for small systems low voltage operation, such as in battery powered devices wide shape and size availability However, legislation in many countries including the US have mandated phasing out the incandescent bulb for more energy efficient options such as compact fluorescent lamps and LED lamps, However, there has been much resistance to these policies owing to the low cost of incandescent bulbs, the instant availability of light and concerns of mercury contamination with CFLs. Other Helpful Resources Who invented the light bulb? Home » inventions » Who invented the light bulb? Who invented the light bulb? Who invented the light bulb? No, it wasn’t Thomas Edison. Light bulbs were in use long before Edison applied for the patent in 1879. British inventor Humphry Davy invented an incandescent light bulb in 1801 and created the “arc lamp” in 1809.

In 1835, Scottish inventor James Bowman Lindsay demonstrated a constant electric light in Dundee. In 1840, British scientist Warren de la Rue also demonstrated a light bulb. In 1841, British inventor Frederick DeMoleyns patented a light bulb and in 1844 American John Wellington Starr filed a U. S. patent caveat for an incandescent lamp. Many others would follow suit but none of the bulbs were effective for everyday use. In 1872, Russian engineer Alexander Lodygin invented an incandescent light bulb for which was awarded a Russian patent in 1874. In 1877, William E. Sawyer developed a incandescent light in partnership with Albon Man. In the late 1870s, Hiram Stevens Maxim – who later, in 1884, invented the first fully automatic machine gun – developed a light bulb and in 1880 installed the first electric lights in a New York City building (the Equitable Life Building at 120 Broadway). British inventor Joseph Wilson Swan started experimenting with light bulb designs in 1850.

On December, 18 1878, he demonstrated a light bulb at a lecture in Newcastle upon Tyne that soon had the attention of the world, including Edison. Swan was awarded a light bulb patent (patent No. 4933) only in 1880, the year in which his house in Gateshead, England became the first house in the world lit by a light bulb. Edison entered the race to develop an effective light bulb in 1878. He struggled with a solution at first but, with the assistance of Francis Upton, on October, 22 1879 he had a breakthrough. His light bulb burned continuously for 13 hours. Edison filed for a patent on November, 4 1879. Edison continued with experiments and by the end of 1880 his light bulbs burned for up to 600 hours. Eventually they would glow for up to 1,200 hours.

Electric lamps : Joseph Swan’s 1878 invention (left) and Thomas Edison’s light bulb of 1879 Swan vs Edison Edison went on to make big buck from the light bulb but Swan sued Edison for infringement and won. As part of the settlement, Edison was forced to take Swan in as a partner but later bought him out in the company that was to become General Electric. In 1883, the US Patent Office ruled that Edison’s patent on the light bulb might have been based on that of William Sawyer and was invalid. It is not that Edison stole the idea: there are many examples of different people thinking up the same concept at more-or-less the same time. But there is no doubt that Edison borrowed some ideas for his light bulb design from Swan’s design. Thomas Alva Edison (1847 – 1931) certainly was not a lazy guy. He filed 1,093 patents, including those for electric railways and the movie camera. When he died in 1931, he held 34 patents for the telephone, 141 for batteries, 150 for the telegraph and 389 patents for electric light and power.

Unlike Leonardo da Vinci who never built the inventions he designed, Edison was not just a great theorist. He coined the phrase: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” He also said: “There are no rules here. We’re trying to get work done.” So, who invented the light bulb? It is generally recognised Thomas Edison perfected the electric light bulb but that Humphy Davy invented the light bulb. Note: Article updated April 2013 Light Bulb History - Invention of the Light Bulb Warren De la Rue, James Bowman Lindsay, James Prescott Joule, Frederick de Moleyns and Heinrich Gï¿½bel. Between the years 1878 and 1892 the electric light industry was growing in terms of installed lights but shrinking in terms of company competition as both Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse determined to control the industry and its advancement. They even formed the Board of Patent Control, a joint arrangement between General Electric and the Westinghouse Company to defend the patents of the two companies in litigation. This proved to be a wise decision as over 600 lawsuits for patent infringement were filed.

The easiest way to understand those turbulent times in the early lighting industry is to follow the company's involved. Of the hundreds of companies in the business, we only cover the major players. We show the flow of inventor's patents and inventor's companies and how the industry ended up monopolized by GE and Westinghouse. Company names listed in GREEN ultimately became part of General Electric. Company names listed in RED ultimately became part of Westinghouse. American Electric Company. In the late 1870's high school teachers Elihu Thomson and Edwin Houston began experimenting with and patenting improvements on existing arc lamp and dynamo designs. In 1880 after being approached by a group of businessmen from New Britain CT, They all agreed to the formation of a company that would engage in the commercial manufacture of lighting systems (both arc and incandescent) based on their own patents. This was the American Electric Company which existed until 1883 when it was reorganized and was renamed the Thomson-Houston Electric Company. Brush Electric Company In 1880, Charles F. Brush forms the Brush Electric Company. That same year he installs the first complete eclectic arc-lighting system in Wabash, Indiana.

Wabash was the first American city to be lit solely by electricity and to own its own municipal power plant (that small dynamo driven by a threshing machine engine). The installation in Cleveland the year before had been a demonstration, but Cleveland would soon begin lighting its streets with arc lamps as well. In 1876 Charles F. Brush invented a new type of simple, reliable, self-regulating arc lamp, as well as a new dynamo designed to power it. Earlier attempts at self regulation had often depended on complex clockwork mechanisms that, among other things, could not automatically re-strike an arc if there were an interruption in power. The simpler Brush design for a lamp/dynamo system made central station lighting a possibility for the first time. Joseph Swan sold his United States patent rights to the Brush Electric Company in June 1882. In 1889, Brush Electric Company merged into the Thomson-Houston Electric Company. Edison Electric Light Company In the period from 1878 to 1880 Edison and his associates worked on at least three thousand different theories to develop an efficient incandescent lamp. Edisons lamp would consist of a filament housed in a glass vacuum bulb.

He had his own glass blowing shed where the fragile bulbs were carefully crafted for his experiments. Edison was trying to come up with a high resistance system that would require far less electrical power than was used for the arc lamps. This could eventually mean small electric lights suitable for home use. By January 1879, at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, Edison had built his first high resistance, incandescent electric light. It worked by passing electricity through a thin platinum filament in the glass vacuum bulb, which delayed the filament from melting. Still, the lamp only burned for a few short hours. In order to improve the bulb, Edison needed all the persistence he had learned years before in his basement laboratory. He tested thousands and thousands of other materials to use for the filament. He even thought about using tungsten, which is the metal used for light bulb filaments now, but he couldnt work with it given the tools available at that time. He tested the carbonized filaments of every plant imaginable, including bay wood, boxwood, hickory, cedar, flax, and bamboo. He even contacted biologists who sent him plant fibers from places in the tropics.

Edison acknowledged that the work was tedious and very demanding, especially on his workers helping with the experiments. He always recognized the importance of hard work and determination. "Before I got through," he recalled, "I tested no fewer than 6,000 vegetable growths, and ransacked the world for the most suitable filament material." Edison decided to try a carbonized cotton thread filament. When voltage was applied to the completed bulb, it began to radiate a soft orange glow. Just about fifteen hours later, the filament finally burned out. Further experimentation produced filaments that could burn longer and longer with each test. By the end of 1880, he had produced a 16-watt bulb that could last for 1500 hours and he began to market his new invention. In Britain, Swan took Edison to court for patent infringement. Edison lost and as part of the settlement, Edison was forced to take Swan in as a partner in his British electric works. The company was called the Edison and Swan United Electric Company (later known as Ediswan which was then incorporated into Thorn Lighting Ltd). Eventually, Edison acquired all of Swan's interest in the company.

Swan sold his United States patent rights to the Brush Electric Company in June 1882. In 1889 the Edison Electric Light Company merged with several other Edison companies to become the Edison General Electric Company. When the Edison General Electric Company merged with Thomson-Houston in 1892, a bitter struggle developed, Edison's name was dropped, and Edison himself had no more involvement with the newly formed General Eclectic Company beyond defending his patents. In 1903 Willis Whitnew invented a filament that would not blacken the inside of a light bulb. It was a metal-coated carbon filament. In 1906, the General Electric Company was the first to patent a method of making tungsten filaments for use in incandescent light bulbs. The filaments were costly, but by 1910 William David Coolidge had invented an improved method of making tungsten filaments. The tungsten filament outlasted all other types of filaments and Coolidge made the costs practical. Edison & Swan United Electric Company In Britain, Joseph Swan took Edison to court for patent infringement.

Edison lost and as part of the settlement, Edison was forced to take Swan in as a partner in his British electric works. The company was called the Edison and Swan United Electric Company (later known as Ediswan). Eventually, Edison acquired all of Swan's interest in the company. General Electric Company In 1892, a merger of Edison General Electric Company and Thomson-Houston Electric Company created General Electric Company. General Electric, GE is the only company listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Index today that was also included in the original index in 1896. Sawyer & Man Electric Company William Sawyer and Albon Man are issued Patent No, 205,144 on June 18, 1878 for Improvements in Electric Lamps. In 1884, Albon Man formed the Sawyer & Man Electric Co for the purpose of protecting the Sawyer-Man electric lamp patent. William Sawyer had died the previous year. In 1886, the Thomson-Houston Electric Company purchased the Sawyer & Man Electric Company and began making incandescent lamps under the Sawyer-Man patents.

Swan Electric Light Company Joseph Wilson Swan (1828-1914) was a physicist and chemist born in Sunderland, England. Swan was the first to construct an electric light bulb, but he had trouble maintaining a vacuum in his bulb. In 1850 he began working on a light bulb using carbonized paper filaments in an evacuated glass bulb. By 1860 he was able to demonstrate a working device, and obtained a UK patent covering a partial vacuum, carbon filament incandescent lamp. However, the lack of good vacuum and an adequate electric source resulted in a short lifetime for the bulb and an inefficient light. Fifteen years later, in 1875, Swan returned to consider the problem of the light bulb and, with the aid of a better vacuum and a carbonized thread as a filament. The most significant feature of Swan's lamp was that there was little residual oxygen in the vacuum tube to ignite the filament, thus allowing the filament to glow almost white-hot without catching fire. Swan received a British patent for his device in 1878 .

Swan had reported success to the Newcastle Chemical Society and at a lecture in Newcastle in February 1879 he demonstrated a working lamp. Starting that year he began installing light bulbs in homes and landmarks in England. In 1880, Swan gave the world's first large-scale public exhibition of electric lamps at Newcastle upon Tyne England. In 1881 he had started his own company, The Swan Electric Light Company, and started commercial production. Swan took Edison to court in Britain for patent infringement. Edison lost and as part of the settlement, Edison was forced to take Swan in as a partner in his British electric works. The company was called the Edison and Swan United Electric Company (later known as Ediswan). Eventually, Edison acquired all of Swan's interest in the company. Also in 1882 Joseph Swan sold his United States patent rights to the Brush Electric Company, a successful "arc" street light manufacture. Thomson-Houston Electric Company In the late 1870's high school teachers Elihu Thomson, a teacher of physics and chemistry, and Edwin Houston, a science teacher, began experimenting with and patenting improvements on existing arc lamp and dynamo designs.

In 1880 after being approached by a group of businessmen from New Britain CT, Thomson & Houston agreed to the formation of a company that would engage in the commercial manufacture of lighting systems (both arc and incandescent) based on their own patents. This was the American Electric Company which existed until 1883 when it was reorganized and was renamed the Thomson-Houston Electric Company. . The company became quite successful and diversified into other electrical markets. In 1886 they purchased the Sawyer & Man Electric Co. and began making incandescent lamps under the Sawyer-Man patents. In 1889 in an attempt to avoid patent disputes over a double-carbon arc lamp design, Thomson-Houston negotiated the purchase of a controlling interest in the Brush company. The Swan Incandescent Light Company was part of the Brush plant so it was included in the takeover. In 1892 Thomson-Houston merged with the Edison companies to form the giant General Electric Company. United States Electric Lighting Company Founded in 1878 by the prolific inventor Hiram Maxim, the United States Electric Lighting soon established itself as Thomas Edison's chief rival in the field of incandescent lighting.

The company made some of the earliest installations of this new technology using Maxim's patent on a carbon-filament lamp, which was similar to that invented by Edison in 1879. When Maxim left USEL in 1881 to pursue other lines of invention, the company purchased the Weston Electric Lighting Company in Newark, NJ, and the services of its founder Edward Weston. The inventor of a successful "arc" lighting system, Weston, as works manager and chief designer of USEL, developed a comprehensive arc and incandescent system which the USEL began to market in 1882. In January 1882, Lewis Latimer, an employee of USEL, received a patent for the "Process of Manufacturing Carbons," an improved method for the production of light bulb filaments which yielded longer lasting bulbs than Edison's technique. In 1888, United States Electric Lighting Co. was purchased by Westinghouse Electric Company. Westinghouse Electric Company In 1886, George Westinghouse formed the Westinghouse Electric Company.

The main function of the Electric & Manufacturing Company was to develop and produce "apparatus for the generation, transmission and application of alternating current electricity." The company also produced electric railway motors, producing approximately 75,000 by 1905. Weston Electric Lighting Company Founded in New Jersey by Edward Weston in 1880, the company's innovations included the Weston standard cell, the first accurate portable voltmeters and ammeters, the first portable light meter, and many other electrical developments. In 1881, the United States Electric Lighting Company purchased the Weston Electric Lighting Company, and the services of its founder Edward Weston. The inventor of a successful "arc" lighting system, Weston, as works manager and chief designer of USEL, developed a comprehensive arc and incandescent system which the USEL began to market in 1882. Woodward and Evans Light On July 24, 1874 a Canadian patent was filed for the Woodward and Evans Light by a Toronto medical electrician named Henry Woodward and a colleague Mathew Evans, who was described in the patent as a "Gentleman" but in reality a hotel keeper.

They built their lamp with a shaped rod of carbon held between electrodes in a glass globe filled with nitrogen. Woodward and Evans found it impossible to raise financial support for the development of their invention and in 1875 Woodward sold a share of their Canadian patent to Thomas Edison. The Edison Vision The economic effect of electric lighting went far beyond increasing the workday. Profits generated by the electric lamp, in effect, paid for a network of generators and wires. This infrastructure then became available for a whole new class of inventions: appliances and equipment that by the 1930s had transformed the home and the workplace. Edison didn't just invent a light bulb, either. He put together what he knew about electricity with what he knew about gas lights and invented a whole system of electric lighting. This meant light bulbs, electricity generators, wires to get the electricity from the power station to the homes, fixtures (lamps, sockets, switches) for the light bulbs, and more. It was like a big jigsaw puzzle--and Edison made up the pieces as well as fitted them together. He did it his way. TO LEARN MORE 100 Inventions That Shaped World History by Bill Yenne, Morton, Dr.

Grosser (Editor) / Paperback - 112 pages (1983) / Bluewood Books This book contains inventions from all around the world from microchips to fire. This is a really good book if you are going to do research on inventions. by Charles Panati / Paperback - 480 pages Reissue edition (September 1989) / HarperCollins Discover the fascinating stories behind the origins of over 500 everyday items, expressions and customs. Edison: A Life of Invention by Paul Israel / Hardcover: 480 pages / John Wiley & Sons; (October 1998) The well-known inventions--the incandescent lightbulb, the phonograph, the kinetoscope for motion pictures, the carbon transmitter for telephones--are all here in detail, and so are the lesser-known ones as well as some Edisonian projects that did not succeed. Edison : A Biography (Limited Availability) by Matthew Josephson / Paperback: 528 pages / Wiley; Reprint edition (February 11, 1992) Regarded as the classic standard biography on Thomas Edison.

It is the only biography written in the last 40 years to be recommended by the official voice of the caretakers of the Edison Laboratory National Monument in New Jersey which houses all of Edison's original records, sketches, notes, correspondence and memoranda. At Work With Thomas Edison by Blaine McCormick / Paperback: 272 pages / Entrepreneur Press; 1 edition (December 1, 2001) In addition to patenting over 1,000 inventions, Edison was a capable businessman who recognized that innovation is a business, emphasizing the importance of creating a company that produces more than just one good idea. Edison never invented simply to create a new thing, but rather focused on crafting something that would have a practical use. (Limited availability.) by John J. Wolfe / Hardcover - 240 pages (June 1999) / Southern Illinois Univ Pr (Txt); Little has been written about Ami Argand and the development of the Argand lamp, a two-air draft burner for oil lamps, especially as his discovery is generally recognized as the first scientific advancement in lighting.

The Lightbulb (Limited availability.) by Joseph Wallace / School & Library Binding - 80 pages (September 1999) / Atheneum When Thomas Alva Edison was a boy, he couldn't just flick a switch to turn on the light if he wanted to finish reading a book after the sun had set. Then, in 1879, he invented the ightbulb, and houses, shops, factories, schools, streets, ballparks -- every place you could think of, indoors and out -- could at last be easily illuminated after dark. Edison: Inventing the Century (Limited availability.) Neil Baldwin / Paperback / Published 1996 Using unprecedented access to Edison family papers and years of research at the Edison corporate archives, Neil Baldwin offers a revealing portrait of one of America's seminal inventors. Thomas Edison DVD / 1 Volume Set / 50 Minutes / Bipgraphy Channel / Less than $25.00 / Also VHS Life in the modern world would be unthinkable without his inventions. More than any other individual, he paved the way for the future. Thomas Alva Edison has rightly earned a place among the most important men in history. From the The Franklin Institute Science Museum.

(URL: sln.fi.edu/qa98/attic12/attic12.html) GE Follows Thomas Edison's Lead and Shines a Light on Innovation What would Thomas Edison think of incandescent lights that last 750 hours or filter out harsh colors of the spectrum to provide a purer, cleaner light? Little did he know his light bulb that lasted only 40 hours would lead to products like the Revealï¿½ bulb, which has sold more than 170 million since 2001. (URL: United States Electric Lighting - Weston Electric Lighting Company Founded in 1878 by the prolific inventor Hiram Maxim, the USEL soon established itself as Thomas Edison's chief rival in the field of incandescent lighting. The company purchased the Weston Electric Lighting Company in Newark, NJ, and the services of its founder Edward Weston. (URL: Presented by Kilokat's antique light bulb site. A bulb collectors dream come true. (URL: bulbcollector.com/gateway/Patent_Archive/Incandescent_Lamp_Patents) Lighting a Revolution This web site accompanies an exhibition at the National Museum of American History exploring the process of invention.

The story is told in two parallel sections comparing Thomas Edison's light bulb invention with several electric lighting inventions of a century later. (URL: americanhistory.si.edu/lighting/index.htm) Elihu Thomson joined with Edwin Houston, a fellow teacher, experimenting in things such as arc-lighting and centrifugal force. They made several inventions and improvements in both fields. (URL: Charles F. Brush invented a new type of simple, reliable, self-regulating arc lamp, as well as a new dynamo designed to power it. Site maintained by Charles Brush the great grandson of the founder of Brush Electric Company. (URL: Founded in New Jersey by Edward Weston in 1888, the company's innovations included the Weston standard cell, the first accurate portable voltmeters and ammeters, the first portable lightmeter, and many other electrical developments. (URL: weston.ftldesign.com/) Charles F. Brush designed and developed an electric arc lighting system that was adopted throughout the United States and abroad during the 1880's. His inventive genius ranked with an elite group of electric pioneers including Thomas A. Edison. (URL: Allm about Edison and his inventions. Thomas Alva Edison changed our world! His genius gave us electric lights in our home.

From the Lemelson Center at the Smithsonian. (URL: invention.smithsonian.org/centerpieces/edison/default.asp) This site presented by the Edisonian Museum offers photographs and descriptions of many of Thomas Edison's inventions. (URL: Located at Inventure Place, the online home of creative minds.Thomas Edison was inducted in 1973 for his invention of the Electric Lamp Patent Number 223,898. (URL: Celebrates inventor/innovator role models through outreach activities and annual awards to inspire a new generation of American scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs. Featured Thomas Alva Edison for his invention of the Electric Light Bulb. (URL: web.mit.edu/invent/iow/edison.html) Consequences of Edison's Lamp Over the course of the next half century two especially significant social effects became clear. We gained control over light in homes and offices, independent of the time of day. And the electric light brought networks of wires into homes and offices, making it relatively easy to add appliances and other machines. From the Lighting Revolution at the Smithsonian. (URL: americanhistory.si.edu/lighting/19thcent/consq19.htm) Rutgers University has a section of their site dedicated to Edison.

The goal of the project was to organize and publish a select edition of the estimated 5 million pages of Thomas Alva Edison's technical, business, and personal papers. (URL: edison.rutgers.edu/) The main function of the Electric & Manufacturing Company was to develop and produce "apparatus for the generation, transmission and application of alternating current electricity." (URL: memory.loc.gov/ammem/papr/west/westelec.html) Guinness Book of World Records The oldest known working lightbulb was first installed at the fire department hose cart house in 1901. Then moved to fire station at First and McLeod, then to its present site in 1976 at the fire station, 4550 East Ave., Livermore, California (URL: Early Incandescent Lamps The history of the electric incandescent lamp can be considered to have begun with the invention of the voltaic pile by Alessandro Volta in 1800. Although the earlier history needs to be revealed in detail, this site concentrates mainly on lamp development between the years 1880-1925.

(URL: home.frognet.net/~ejcov/index40.html) "The electric light has caused me the greatest amount of study and has required the most elaborate experiments. I was never myself discouraged, or inclined to be hopeless of success. I cannot say the same for all my associates." - Thomas Alva Edison "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." - Thomas Alva Edison HOW IT WORKS: The incandescent light bulb (archaically known as the electric lamp) uses a glowing wire filament heated to white-hot by electrical resistance, to generate light (a process known as thermal radiation or incandescence). The bulb is the glass enclosure which keeps the filament in a vacuum or low-pressure noble gas, or a halogen gas in the case of quartz-halogen lamps in order to prevent oxidation of the filament at high temperatures. Because of its poor efficiency and yellowish color, incandescent light bulb are gradually being replaced in many applications by fluorescent lights, high-intensity discharge lamps, LEDs, and other devices. You can view an incandescent light bulb illustration at the Merriam-Webster Web site.

The incandescent light bulb consists of six componets;: 1 bulb containing gas, 2 filament, 3 connecting and supporting wires, 4 exhaust tube, 5 screw base, 6 base contact. History of the Light Bulb Mara Bermudez / Content Writer In The Beginning... The history of the light bulb is filled rivalry, failures and great achievements. The electric light bulb has been called the most important invention since man-made fire. The light bulb helped to establish social order after sundown, extended the workday well into the night, and allowed us to navigate and travel safely in the dark. Without the light bulb, there would be no nightlife. However, creating a steady and affordable source of illumination was not as easy as many history textbooks suggest. The modern light bulb is the result of many innovators' work and continuous improvements over 150 years. 1700s The First Artificial Sources of Light Before the arrival of electric lighting, people used a variety of tricks for navigating their neighborhoods at night. In The Downs, an area near the English Channel, patches of chalky soil were used as beacons known as down lanterns. In wooded areas, bark was strategically cut from trees to expose the lighter wood underneath.

However, on most clear nights, the moon and starlight were strong enough to navigate at night. In the 18th century, candles and oil lamps illuminated many light fixtures in most homes and businesses. These early sources of illumination emitted a weak light, smoked, and gave off foul odors. They were also dangerous and required constant attention. Wealthy aristocrats used beeswax and spermaceti candles to light up their lavish households. The middle class used cheap tallow candles while the poor used rushlights, makeshift candles made from reeds dipped in animal or vegetable fat and ignited, which burned for a short time. 1800s During the 19th century, gas lighting replaced candles and oil lamps in many homes, businesses, and streets. Gas lamps produced a brighter and more efficient illumination. They also cost 75 percent less than candles or oil lamps, and were easier and safer to operate. By the 1850s, most city streets in the United States and Europe were illuminated by gas lamps. Gas lighting is credited with reducing crime rates and increasing literacy in many areas.

As electricity became more widespread during the turn of the century, gas lamps were replaced by incandescent lamps in streets, businesses, and theaters. 1802 The First Electric Lights In 1802, Sir Humphry Davy, an English physician, created the first electric light by passing a current through a platinum strip. The glow did not last long, but it marked the beginning of the history of light bulbs. In 1809, Davy demonstrated the first carbon arc lamp at the Royal Institute in London by connecting two wires to a battery and attaching a charcoal strip between the other ends of the wires. While the scientific community and the public raved about the demonstration, the arc lamp burned too brightly and consumed a large amount of current, which quickly drained the battery and rendered the lamp impractical for commercial development and production. Several decades passed before electric generators made arc lamps practical for street and theater lighting. 1875 In 1875, Pavel Nikolayevich Yablochkov, a Russian electrical engineer and inventor, developed the first practical arc lamp known as the "Yablochkov Candle." Yablochkov used two parallel carbon rods to extend the life of the battery.

During the Paris World's Fair of 1878, about 64 Yablochkov candles were installed on the Avenue de l'Opéra, Plade du Théâtre Francais and around the Place de l'Opéra, earning the city the famous nickname of "City of Lights." The success of the exhibition was influential in bringing electric lighting to the masses, and arc lamps were soon installed on many streets in the United States and Europe. Arc lamps produced an intense, bright light that was ideal for illuminating streets and outdoor spaces, but the dazzling lights were not suitable for indoor use. During the late 1880s, Thomas A. Edison and many other inventors began to experiment with incandescent lamps in search for a reliable and economical form of indoor lighting. Arc lamps were used for searchlights, lighthouses, stadium lights, film production lights, film projector lamps, and other high-intensity lighting applications until the 1980s when advancements in short-arc lamps made them obsolete. The First Incandescent Light Bulbs Incandescent light bulbs use electricity to heat a carbon or metal base filament inside a glass bulb until it becomes hot and emits a radiant glow.

A vacuum keeps the filament from burning up too quickly and blackening the interior of the glass bulb. Many of the first incandescent light bulbs faced the same challenges - a poor vacuum design, inferior and/or expensive filaments, and bulb blackening. However, these early experiments were pivotal in the development of the first commercially viable incandescent light bulb. 1841 In 1841, Frederick de Moleyns received the first patent for an incandescent lamp in England. The lamp used a glass bulb, a partial vacuum and powdered charcoal between two platinum filaments to emit light. However, the lamp was not efficient enough for commercial use. The vacuum's poor design caused the bulb to darken at the top and block light output, and the platinum filaments were too expensive. 1865 In 1865, German chemist Hermann Sprengel invented a mercury-vacuum pump, known as the Sprengel pump, that streamed mercury through a reservoir, T-junction and down a duct to evacuate the air from the vacuum and steadily lower the pressure. Inventors developing incandescent lamps quickly adopted the invention because it helped to preserve the filament inside the bulb.

1874 In 1874, Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans filed a patent for an incandescent light bulb with a carbon filament in Canada and the United States. The light bulbs, although they worked properly, sold poorly. They sold their patent to Thomas Edison in 1879. 1878 In 1878, William E. Sawyer and Albion Man received the first U.S. patent for "improvement of Electric Lights." The lamp consisted of a nitrogen-filled globe with a carbon conductor, supported by large zigzagging radiators. The lamp’s rigid design prevented the carbon conductor from expanding and contracting, causing the lamp to break frequently. The first Westinghouse light bulbs were based on the Sawyer-Man incandescent lamps. Who Invented The Incandescent Light Bulb: Edison v. Swan In many textbooks, Thomas A. Edison is solely credited with inventing the modern incandescent light bulb after 10,000 attempts. Edison, an undisputed visionary, was not the only one competing to develop the first commercial incandescent bulb. Countless chemists, physicists, and inventors clamored for the honor and substantial payoff.

In 1878, a young Edison stated that he could create a safer, cheaper, and more reliable incandescent light to replace existing gas lights in just six weeks. The announcement caused gas company stocks to plummet. At 31 years old, Edison had already earned the nickname of the Wizard of Menlo Park for his innovation and inventions, including the stock ticker, quadruplex telegraph and phonograph. He gathered financial backing and assembled a team of 14 engineers, machinists, and physicists known as the “muckers” in Menlo Park, NJ, to research and develop an incandescent light bulb. Notable team members included American mathematician and physicist Francis Upton, American mechanic Charles Batchelor, and Swiss-born machinist John Kruesi. During this time, Edison and his team created several incandescent light bulb prototypes, including a lamp with a platinum filament, which oxidized slowly and had a high melting point. To prevent the filament from overheating and burning out, a problem that plagued earlier inventors, he created a regulating system that intermittently diverted the current away from the filament, permitting it to cool.

The system was difficult to manufacture and operate, and the light bulb itself would shut off every few minutes, rendering the lamp impractical for commercial development. At the same time, Sir Joseph Wilson Swan, an English chemist and physicist, was independently working on an incandescent light bulb with a carbon filament. Swan began working on the incandescent bulb three decades earlier, but like other early inventors, he lacked a reliable vacuum and a suitable electric source to create a practical light bulb. In late 1878, he reported to the Newcastle Chemical Society that he had created a working incandescent lamp and he received a UK patent that same year. In February 1879, Swan demonstrated a working lamp during a lecture at the Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society. His lamp design included an enclosed bulb with the air removed, platinum lead wires, and light-emitting carbon element. Swan’s original incandescent lamp, while functional, was not practical for real-world use. The carbon rod had low electrical resistance and required a large amount of current to heat up and make the filament glow, which meant that the electric conductors to the lamp had to be short or unreasonably thick.

The rod also released gasses when the lamp was turned on and dark soot quickly accumulated inside the glass, blocking light output. Swan improved his design and eventually established his own electric lighting company, The Swan Electric Light Company, in 1881. 1879 In 1879, Edison and his team discovered that a thin filament with high electrical resistance was more efficient. This meant that only a small amount of current and reasonably sized copper cables were needed to make the filament glow. The team also experimented with carbonized filaments made from baywood, boxwood, cedar, cotton, hickory, and flax. On New Year's Eve, Edison demonstrated his new innovation to 3,000 guests at Menlo Park. 1880 In 1880, Edison's team improved the light bulb with a bamboo filament that burned for 1,200 hours. The carbonized bamboo filament became the standard filament for the next ten years. The same year, Edison received a second U.S. patent for incandescent light bulbs.

Representatives of the Edison Electric Light Company promoted the new incandescent lamps by holding demonstrations at the Menlo Park lab and attending trade shows and expositions all around the country. The demonstrations were designed to associate Edision's name with the new lighting technology. During this time, Edison pursued legal action after Swan after mutual allegations of patent infringement. He lost and was forced to settle with Swan by making him a partner in the British electric company. In 1883, the Edison Electric Light Company, Ltd. merged with The Swan Electric Company and became the Edison and Swan United Electric Light Company, Ltd. (commonly known as Ediswan). Edison bought Swan out of the company after a few years. Thomas Edison did not invent the first light bulb; however, he did improve the design and performance of the earliest incandescent lamps to create the first commercially viable light bulb. He also developed other inventions that made the light bulb practical to for everyday use.

The Edison Screw, a system of screw mounts that ensures compatibility between a light bulb and the base of a light fixture, and a complete electrical lighting system (including feeders, switches and meters) not only capitalized on his light bulb design, but it also made him a household name and secured his name in the history books. 1911 Edison's light bulb remained unaltered for several decades. In 1911, William D. Coolidge, an American physicist at General Electric (GE), developed tungsten filaments that lasted longer and burned brighter than carbon filaments. GE overhauled their bulb-making equipment and began selling light bulbs with tungsten filaments, replacing the carbonize bamboo filaments. In 1913, American chemist and physicist Irving Langmuir discovered that filling a light bulb with an inert gas such as nitrogen and twisting the filament lengthened the life of the tungsten filament. In 1925, Marvin Pipkin, a American chemist and inventor, developed the frosted incandescent light bulb. Pipkin also devised a silica coating process that helped diffuse light, reduce glare, and minimize loss of light output.

1956 The halogen light bulb was first introduced in 1959 by GE. These light bulbs, while an adaptation of incandescent light bulbs, reduced the uneven evaporation of the filament and darkening of the envelope by filling the lamp with halogen gas rather than an inert gas. Halogen bulbs also lasted longer with an average life of 1,500 hours, and consumed 15 percent less energy. Despite numerous improvements over the years, modern incandescent bulbs remained inefficient. About ten percent of the electric power supplied to an incandescent light bulb is actually converted into visible light. The remaining energy is wasted as heat. 1970s Energy Crisis Inspires Energy Efficient Lighting The U.S. oil crisis in the 1970s sparked interest in renewable sources of energy and energy-efficient residential lighting. Lighting engineers began to adapt fluorescent lighting for residential use. Fluorescent lamps had been in use since the 1930s, but they were mainly used for commercial and industrial lighting. In 1976, Edward E. Hammer, an engineer at GE, bent a fluorescent tube into a spiral shape, creating the first compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL).

GE initially shelved the design because the machinery needed to mass produce the light bulbs was too expensive at the time. The design was leaked and shortly thereafter, other manufacturers began to produce the light bulb. 1980s During the mid-1980s, the first CFLs began to hit the market starting at $25 to $35. Consumers were hesitant to embrace the new lighting technology due to its price, size, and performance. Early CFLs were big and bulky, and did not fit in many light fixtures. They light bulbs also emitted a low light and performed inconsistently. Subsequent improvements in CFL prices, performance, and efficiency made them the ideal choice for energy conscious homeowners and business owners. Today, CFLs use 75 percent less energy than traditional incandescent light bulbs. They also have an average life 10,000 hours, about ten times longer than the average life of an incandescent bulb, and cost as little as $1.71 per bulb. LEDs Light Up the Future Light emitting diode (LEDs) are one of the fastest growing lighting technologies today. LEDs are a type of solid-state lighting that uses semiconductors to convert electricity into visible light.

LEDs emit light in a specific direction, minimizing the needs for reflectors and diffusers that can trap light, and absorb the heat produced via a heat sink. In 1961, James R. "Bob" Biard and Gary Pittman at Texas Instruments discovered the first light-emitting diode while attempting to create a laser diode. The following year, Nick Holonyak Jr. at GE developed the first visible red diode. In 1972, M. George Craford developed the first yellow diode. Craford, a graduate student of Holonyak, also improved the red diode and developed red-orange diode. The same year, Herbert Maruska and Jacques Pankove developed the violet diode. As companies improved red diodes and their production, they began to appear as indicator lights and calculator displays during the late 1970s. 1990s During the 1990s, researchers focused their efforts on increasing the energy efficiency of light-emitting diodes. In 1993, Shuji Nakamura developed the first bright blue light-emitting diode, the last component needed to create bright white LED light.

Shortly thereafter, scientist experimented with blue, red, and green diodes by coating them with phosphors to make them appear white. 2000s During the early 2000s, the first LED light bulbs hit the market. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the L Prize Competition, a competition designed to push the development of ultra-efficient solid-state lighting products. In late 2009, Philips Lighting North America entered its LED bulb in the competition's 60-watt replacement category. The Department of Energy estimates that at the time, 971 million 60-watt incandescent light bulbs were in use. In 2011, Philips Lighting won the L Prize 60-watt replacement category after a rigorous review process. The winning light bulb cost $40 and was reported to last more than 27 years. Since 2008, the price of LED bulbs has decreased more than 85 percent, making them an affordable choice for illuminating homes, businesses, and public spaces.

LED bulbs are six to seven times more efficient than incandescent light bulbs, cut energy consumption by 80 percent, and last 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs. In 2012, 49 million LED products were installed in the U.S., saving about $675 million in annual energy costs. The Legacy of the Modern Light Bulb The modern-day light bulb not only revolutionized home and work life, it also influenced urban development and accelerated the economy. Many people migrated from rural areas to the city in search for work. Late-night restaurants, businesses, and sporting events provided new employment opportunities and entertainment. Electric light bulbs created the practice of shift work, increased worker efficiency, and allowed for greater productivity. They also improved working conditions, eliminated heat and pollution caused by gas lighting, and reduced fire hazards. The cost of electricity was often offset by the reduction of insurance premiums. Light bulbs also changed how products were marketed to consumers and gave rise to bright billboards and signs. Sources Berger, Brooke. "Many Minds Produced The Light That Illuminated America." US News. (accessed January 29, 2014). "Edison's Companies - The Edison Papers." The Edison Papers.

(accessed January 29, 2014). "Edison's Lightbulb at The Franklin Institute." The Franklin Institute. (accessed January 28, 2014). Greenwood, Ronald and Charles D. Wrege. William E. Sawyer and the Rise and Fall of America’s First Incandescent Electric Light Company, 1978-1881. ~business/bhcweb/publications/BEHprint/v013/p0031-p0049.pdf. (accessed January 28, 2014) Henley, Jon. "Life before artificial light." The Guardian. (accessed January 29, 2014). "Lighting A Revolution: 19th Century Invention." Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History. (accessed January 29, 2014). "Lighting A Revolution: 19th Century Promotion." Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History. (accessed January 29, 2014). "Lighting A Revolution: Joseph W. Swan." Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History. (accessed January 27, 2014).

Matulka, Rebecca, and Daniel Wood. "History of the Light Bulb." Energy.gov. (accessed January 26, 2014). "Rural Electrification Act - Ohio History Central." Ohio History Central. (accessed January 29, 2014). Oxlade, Chris. The Light Bulb (Tales of Invention). Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2012 "Sir Joseph Wilson Swan (1828 - 1914)." Joseph Swan: Biography. (accessed January 29, 2014). Truini, Joseph. "What You Need to Know About the Lightbulb Law." Popular Mechanics. (accessed January 29, 2014). Sekiguchi, Toko and Bryan Walsh. "Shuji Nakamura." Time. (accessed January 29, 2014). Whelan, M. "History of the Incandescent Light." Edison Tech Center. (accessed January 29, 2014). Whelan, M. "LED Lights - How it Works - History." Edison Tech Center. (accessed January 28, 2014).

Whelan, M. "The Fluorescent Lamp - How it Works & History." Edison Tech Center. (accessed January 29, 2014). Stay Connected

Question: Who was the English scientist who invented the light bulb independently of Thomas Edison in 1878?
Answer: JOSEPH SWAN