History

The history of the invention and evolution of the light bulb bears testimony of the endeavors of many scientists, physicists, and even chemists. The history of light bulbs is as old as two centuries. Sir Humphrey Davy worked out a formulation for the electric arc that resulted in Davy’s miner lamp.

In 1802 he first demonstrated the working of the electric arc using 2 wires, one end of which was attached to a narrow thin piece of charcoal and the other to a battery. In 1820, Warner de la Rue used a coil made of platinum in an empty tube, passed an electric current through the coil and produced the first light bulb. Such a bulb was not commercially feasible, as platinum is a very expensive metal.

Research to find the right kind of filament was being worked out by many scientists. However, it was James Prescott Joule who first propounded that electric current when made to pass through a conductor with high resistance yields thermal energy, which can generate light energy or become luminous. The quest began to find the right filament, which was inexpensive, practical, commercially viable, and not too big. In 1840, Joseph Wilson Swan, an English physicist and chemist, developed the first practical working electric light bulb using a carbonized paper filament in partial vacuum. He patented this incandescent lamp in 1860.

However, this bulb produced fairly dim light, was not long-lasting, and had to be close to the power source. In 1874 he demonstrated an improvised version. However, Thomas Eliot made it commercially feasible in 1875 using similar technology. Eliot worked relentlessly to improve the light bulb. In 1880 he introduced a bamboo fiber filament lamp. With the use of a vacuum pump invented by Herman Spiegel he was successful at creating a complete vacuum inside the lamp chamber. The presence of oxygen was known to oxidize the filament and affected the life of the bulb.

The shape of the glass bulb that was used was originally designed by Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans. During this time scientists were working on a new form of electric arc lamp, the discharge lamp, first by using carbon dioxide inside the bulb and later by inserting a noble gas like argon or krypton. This was done to enhance the efficiency of the light bulb.

In 1901, Peter Copper Hewitt invented a lamp of mercury vapor, which emitted a bright bluish-white light. Later, a brighter sodium vapor lamp was invented. In 1903, Willies Whitney introduced a metal coating for the carbon filament to prevent it from getting charred and burned, and in turn blackening the bulb. In 1906 General Electric introduced the tungsten filament, which had a high melting point.

Although Eliot was aware of this metal and its use, there was no machinery to develop it during his time. In 1910 another engineer from General Electric, William David Coolidge, invented a tungsten filament with a longer life. The 1920s saw the invention of frosted light bulbs, which were used for cars and neon lights. In 1930, photographic flash bulbs and fluorescent bulbs were invented. The 1940s saw the invention of soft incandescent light bulbs and the 1950s saw the invention of quartz glass that was later used in halogen bulbs. The 1960s and 1970s paved the way for metal halide lamps, ellipsoid reflectors and mirrors, which were used to produce brighter lamps. In 1990 the Philips company invented a 60,000-hour bulb with magnetic induction, and later it also introduced the full-spectrum light bulb.

In modern times, scientists are working around the clock to develop more-energy efficient, power-saving and environmentally friendly bulbs.

Light Bulbs provides detailed information on Light Bulb, Halogen Light Bulb, Fluorescent Light Bulb, History of the Light Bulb and more. Light Bulbs is affiliated with Light Fixtures.

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We revel in the beauty of what we see all around us. We admire flowers, see ourselves in the mirror, and consider ourselves lucky to have optical sensation. But we don’t always remember that it is light reflected from the surface of objects that enables us to see them. Pioneers of light technology like Sir Joseph Swan (1878) and Thomas Edison (1879) helped humankind switch its domestic and commercial light sources from oil lamps and candles to light bulbs.

The technology in light bulbs has evolved since the time of Edison to include better quality incandescent bulbs, halogen bulbs, discharge bulbs, florescent bulbs, and so on. However, the ‘Edison caps’ are still used in certain bulbs, and most use the same simple materials and technology with a few variations and modifications. Light bulbs can be used for domestic purpose or commercial use, in cars, flashlights, and any form of business. Light bulbs can also be designed to emit colored light.

Light bulbs are typically made of two metal links at the base of the glass (or quartz in case of halogen) bulb. When these metals come in contact with a running electric current or batteries (in flash lights), the electricity is transmitted to the filament. The bulb is filled with an inert gas like argon (premium gas like krypton can also be used) to prevent the filament from getting oxidized from contact with oxygen. The filament is made of a metal, tungsten, which has an exceptionally high melting point.

The running electric current heats up the filament to a very high temperature (2,000 degrees Celsius) and the filament radiates excess energy as both heat and a large quantity of visible and invisible light. Light is thus a radiation or emission of excessive energy by atoms.

The atoms in the filament, like all other atoms, have a nucleus, and electrons that revolve around the nucleus in different orbits. When the electrons are activated by surplus energy (by collision with other atoms due to high temperature in filament) they jump away from the nucleus to a different orbit of greater energy level.

However, these artificially stimulated electrons are unstable and they emit excess energy in form of light energy, i.e., photons. Photons do not possess any mass, but have momentum and energy. The different techniques used to excite the atoms lead to the generation of different wavelengths, and hence, different colors of light. The presence of a gas enables the evaporated particles of the filament to bounce back to the filament.

Light bulbs which are aging or in bad condition generally fuse when they are switched on. This is because a tungsten filament (especially those which are worn out or thinned out) has low resistance to electricity when it is cold. When the current is switched on the filament is still in the process of heating up and building resistance, and so the filament breaks and the bulb fuses.

Most bulbs used for domestic purposes have a built-in fuse to prevent the main current from tripping. The filament thins out because sometimes, due to prolonged use, the high temperature in the filament results in the evaporation of the atoms. Despite the high light and energy efficiency of halogen and florescent bulbs, many people still favor the convectional incandescent bulbs because they are supposed to emit a warmer light.

However, times have changed, and variously colored fluorescent and efficient halogen bulbs have come into the market. From power-saving bulbs that consume less electricity and give better outputs to those that are environmentally friendly, the market is full of options. Halogen bulbs are generally a little more expensive and, due to the premium gas in them, may be dangerous if not handled according to guidelines.

Light Bulbs provides detailed information on Light Bulb, Halogen Light Bulb, Fluorescent Light Bulb, History of the Light Bulb and more. Light Bulbs is affiliated with Light Fixtures.

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