Evolution Of The Lightbulb

Artificial light is all around us. They come in all shapes and sizes. They illuminate the night sky. From the early arc lamps of the 1800s to the more efficient light more commonly used today, the LED. I think we can all agree that the light bulb has revolutionized the world in which we live in today. With the ever-growing population across the globe, comes the need for more light. With the advancements in light bulb technology, we can tackle this issue by using the more efficient and longer lasting LED. This paper will describe the evolution of the lightbulb, and the journey it has taken over the last 150 years. We will discuss the early development of electric light and incandescent bulbs and how its impact would shape how for a more “greener” approach to lighting today.

To understand the history of the light bulb, we must go back to the mid-1800s and the development of electric light. Inventors in England, France, and the US, were all working on a version of the incandescent bulb. Electric light was not uncommon then. One way to produce electric light would be to take two carbon rods and bring them within millimeters and funnel large amounts of electricity through them. By doing this, a large spark would bridge the gap between the two rods creating a light equal to “the order of four thousand candlepower” (Flatow pg. 13). This is great for lighting up enemy war planes in the night sky or even alerting ships using lighthouses.

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But needing to harness that power on a smaller scale would become a challenge. The incandescent bulb proved to be the answer. But for most inventors of that time period, finding the right materials to use proved difficult. Frederick De Moleyns, an English inventor during the 1840s, used both platinum and carbon materials for his incandescent bulb but didn’t get too far as the intense heat produced by the electricity melted the materials. Another well-known inventor and chemist of the time, Joseph Swann, also participated in the experimenting of early incandescent lighting. After many attempts of enclosing a paper inside a vacuum and watching the carbon melt, Swann decided to walk away from the race for light temporarily. Many inventors were left confused and lost. Was this the end? It wouldn’t be too long before we got an answer thanks to a man named, Thomas Edison.

Edison was well known for many inventions of his time, but his primary focus would be on the incandescent bulb and how to improve on it. Edison later discovered that a vacuum was needed to protect the platinum from oxidation. He would conclude “that the melting point is determined greatly by the amount of gas within the pores of the metal and when expanded, disrupts the metal and makes it easier to fuse” (Israel pg. 181). Early experiments would prove costly and consume too much energy to be considered effective. Edison and his colleagues would later go on to develop a lightbulb that had a life of around 15 hours. This would lead to the discovery of a filament made of bamboo. This type of material would last up to 1,200 hours and become the standard for the Edison bulb for the next 10 years. (The history of the lightbulb).

During this time, Joseph Swann would be coming back to the drawing boards. Swann took out a patent for his carbon filament bulb in November 1880 and demonstrated his bulb months prior. Swann would go on to add that,

I do not mention these things in any way to disparage Mr. Edison, for no one can esteem more highly his inventive genius than I do. I merely state these facts because I think it is right to do so in my own interest, and the interest of true history. 

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