Invention of the light bulb

The invention of the light bulb is one of the most popular and “talked about” inventions in society. This is mainly due to the association it has with electricity and the many inventors associated with it such as Thomas Edison.

First off let it be known that Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb but rather improved upon the invention of others to a more efficient and useful working technological model.  There are around 20 to 30 inventors involved with the invention of the light bulb.

Common research states that the first to come up with the light bulb idea was Sir Humphry Davy (Great Britain) around the early 1800′s. Davy had a principle for his light bulb invention, that any object when heated to a certain point have objects contained within  it that put off radiation and light. Today this is known as incandescence. His early work used platinum but it was found to not put off alot of light but it did pave the way for other inventors to improve upon.

After Davy many more inventors made improvements upon the original idea. Here are just a few of the great minds who were instrumental in bringing us light:

• Warren de la Rue (Great Britain) - used another type of platinum with a special evacuated bulb. However, platinum costs were too pricey to allow any commercial models to be developed.
• Fredrick de Moleyns (Great Britain) In 1841 successfully received the first patent for his version of the incandescent lamp.
• John Starr (United States) -In 1845 he received a patent for his carbon filament incandescent lamp.
• Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin (France) - Created his own unique version in the mid 1800′s.
• Henry Woodward & Matthew Evans (Canada) – This pair created the first Nitrogen gas filled bulb in 1875.
• Joseph Wilson Swan (Great Britain) – He started his own company and was fundamental in creating more efficient carbon filaments. It is widely known that his house was the first to have a light bulb inside.

Thomas Edison’s (United States) efforts were noticeable around 1878 when his version of the incandescent bulb contained a carbonized bamboo filament. When people say Edison invented the light bulb more often than not they are referring to him because he made the most advancements with the incandescent technology such as better material, lower pressure vacuum and a lamp with higher resistance. He also invented the lighting system which included a generator, mains, feeders and the distribution systems for the electricity.

All of these inventions helped become the foundation for his company he started in 1890, General Electric (GE). As of 2009, Forbes ranked it the largest corporation with 323,000 employees worldwide. All from a simple light bulb. Gotta love it  :-)

After Edison, many improvements were made to try and increase the quality of the incandescent lamp. The version most commonly settled on was the  Tungsten filament which generates light when heated in a bulb filled with rare gases. As you can see there were lots of great minds at work from many different parts of the world all driven around the common goal of “lighting up the world.”