We all think that the American inventor Thomas Edison was the inventor of electricity and the light bulb, but when we examine the dusty pages of history, we see that the light bulb was invented by many different people in the same time period. Let’s take a closer look at the history of the light bulb and the studies on the subject.
We are talking about the Internet, computers and many other technologies, but without electricity, they would turn into meaningless concepts. Every device we use today works with electricity, we are illuminated with light bulbs and even the devices we use have a screen thanks to the small light bulbs inside. Who invented the light bulb Many people know the answer to the question as Thomas Edison, but when we examine history, we come across different answers.
Yes, Thomas Edison is the person who patented the light bulb and many similar devices. However This does not mean that Edison invented the light bulb. Even though it was patented in 1879, studies on light bulbs and electrical systems actually started in the first days of the 1800s. Let’s get lost in the dusty pages of history and take a closer look at the history of the light bulb, without which we cannot imagine living today.
The first bulb was copper wires in salt water:
Let’s go back to the year 1800, in Italy, and take a look at the laboratory of inventor Alessandro Volta. Alessandro Volta, He found a practical method of generating electricity, which he named after himself. Volta; With cardboards dipped in salt water, discs made of zinc and copper materials, and copper wires attached to the two ends of this pile, he was able to both transmit electric current and radiate a little light.
While Alessandro Volta was describing this work in a letter to the Royal Society in England, British inventor Humphry Davy had invented the world’s first electric lamp by connecting voltaic piles and coal iodines. This invention, made in 1802, is known as the Davy lamp. this was a first however, it was used only as a reference in the works of the period, as it radiated a light that was too bright to be used in homes.
Bulb designs are evolving:
In 1840, the English scientist Warren de la Rue invented a light bulb that used a platinum filament instead of copper. Because platinum is so expensive did not receive commercial response. In 1848, William Staite, also an Englishman, developed a mechanism that extends the life of the lamps by regulating the movement of carbon rods, but the batteries required to operate this mechanism were not commercially available because they were quite expensive.
In 1850, English chemist Joseph Swan devised a system that would eliminate the cost problem of previous studies; using carbonized paper filaments instead of platinum. Swan, who received the patent for the light bulb he invented in 1860 in 1978, introduced this work in Newcastle in 1879. To cut the oxygen bond of filaments used a vacuum tube. It was a beautiful lamp, but at that time the vacuum tube was not as useful a product as it is today.
Thomas Edison takes the stage:
This is where our man, Thomas Edison, steps in and discovers that the problem with Joseph Swan’s light bulb is the filaments. By inventing a thin filament with high electrical resistance invents a much more practical light bulb. He introduces this light bulb, which works with a less current, in 1879. First a rivalry and then a partnership begins between the two and they establish the Edison-Swan United company.
In 1874, Canadian inventors Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans patented a light bulb consisting of a nitrogen-filled glass cylinder and carbon rods. even if they try hard they eventually sold this invention to Edison in 1879.
Thomas Edison moved his work to the United States in 1880 and In 1882 he opened the first electricity generating station. There were many other inventors such as William Sawyer and Albon Man in the USA at that time, but when they realized that they could not stand alone, they merged with Edison and established the General Electric company.
Light bulbs are getting cheaper, more powerful and practical:
Thomas Edison was a powerful figure, both commercially and politically. His whole purpose now was to develop light bulbs that he could produce much more cheaply. Edison and his team worked on more than 3,000 light bulb designs. They conducted special studies on more than 6,000 plants to find the most efficient filament.
The team’s work paid off, and they eventually developed a carbonized bamboo filament. This filament could burn for more than 1200 hours. This filament was used in long-term Edison lamps. In 1902, Willis R. Whitney, one of the engineers working with Edison, patented a system that would allow glass bulbs to burn much longer before they darken.
William David Coolidge, an American physicist working with the General Electric company, discovered in 1910 that it was the highest melting point of all chemical substances. developed tungsten. Tungsten is an excellent material for light bulb filament. It is known that tungsten is still used in many light bulbs even today.
A revolution in lighting: LED lights
shaping today’s technology world with its versions such as OLED and AMOLED. LED lights have actually been used since the 1960s. Nick Holonyak, an American scientist working at General Electric, accidentally discovered LED light while doing laser studies. It has been known since the beginning of the 20th century that semiconductors emit light when exposed to an electric current, but Holonyak was the first to patent it.
Yellow and green colors have been added to LED lights over the years. Japanese-American scientists Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura They discovered the blue LED in the 1990s. White LED light is obtained when the diodes of the blue LED light are coated with phosphors, so the invention is extremely important. Three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014 for their work.
Today, companies such as Phillips, Stack, Tesla and institutions such as NASA are based on LED lights. they sign much more advanced lighting technologies. There are bulbs that emit millions of different colors, remotely controlled ones, and even self-sensing ambient lighting. Interesting how it all started with copper wires in salt water
Centennial Light, which has been burning for more than a hundred years in spite of changing the bulbs once a week:
A bulb whose name is Centennial Light, meaning the light of the century. It has been burning almost uninterruptedly since its first operation in 1901. Thanks to his dedication to work that defies these years, he was named in the Guinness Book of World Records, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and managed to print it in the General Electric records.
Centennial Light, which started its life as 30 watts, continues today as 4 watts. It was produced by the Shelby Electric Company in the late 1890s. The historical light bulb currently working in the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department in the USA; It holds the record as none of them were a bulb-related problem, although it was shut down once during transportation and once for a while due to the power supply.
After Centennial Light was first discovered in 1972, there has been a lot of news, reviews, documentaries, and artwork about it. of the bulb It is thought to have such a long life because it burns constantly, emits low energy and is connected to a special power source. If you’re wondering if the Centennial Light is still on, you can follow it live via the link here.
Although the patent is in Thomas Edison, in fact, many people have signed his invention. who invented the light bulb We answered the question and talked about the details you need to know about the history of the light bulb. The fact that the journey that started with primitive systems hundreds of years ago illuminates the endless darkness of space today is as impressive as science fiction stories.