History of Light Bulbs, Quick Overview

   

Swan's Bulb (left) and Edison's Bulb (right) 
Source: CCI Archives/Science Photo Library

     When you think about who invented the light bulb you tend to think of Thomas Edison first. However, there are others who contributed to the invention of the light bulb, Italian inventor Alessandro Volta, created what was known as the voltaic piles in the 1800s. It was the first method to be created to generate electricity. Volta then presented his findings to the Royal Society in London. This led to Harvey Davy, an English chemist and inventor, creating the first lamp in 1802. The lamp was known as the electric arc lamp, although the lamp was an improvement on Volta’s work, it still was impractical for use in the home or workspace. The lamp would burn out too quickly and was far too bright. Throughout the 1800s many would use Davy’s findings to create their own lamps and bulbs. 

    In 1840 British scientist Warren de la Rue, developed a more efficient light bulb that would use a coiled platinum filament in place of the copper, this would keep the bulb from burning out quickly like in the case of Davy’s lamp. Unfortunately the platinum costs were too high and kept the bulb from being a success commercially. Later in 1848 Englishman William Staite improved the arc lamp by prolonging it’s longevity. He added a clockwork mechanism that would regulate the movement of the quick burning carbon rods in the lamps, this too was costly and would not be a commercial success. Following this in 1850, Joseph Swan began his work on a cost effective light bulb and by 1860 he had developed a bulb that would use carbonized paper filaments in place of the platinum ones. By 1878 he had patented his work in the UK and in 1879 was able to demonstrate the lamp during a lecture in Newcastle, England. Swan used vacuum tubes, which was typical in other bulbs, to minimize the oxygen exposure. The vacuum pumps were not efficient and though they worked for the demonstration they were not practical for everyday use. 

Thomas Edison knew of Swan’s work and realized that Swan’s issue was the filament. He thought a thin filament would work better with the high electrical resistance because it would only need a little current to make it glow; this would make the lamp/bulb more practical for everyday use. In 1879 Edison demonstrated his improvement on Swan’s bulb, shortly after Swan took the improvement and incorporated it into his own bulbs, he then founded an electrical company in England. Edison was not pleased about this and took Swan to court for patent infringement, however Swan’s own patent in the UK had a strong claim to the bulb as well. Swan also tried to sue Edison in the UK, the two eventually put their differences aside and joined forces to start the Edison-Swan United Electric Light Company. 

Swan wasn’t the only one who Edison fought against, in 1874 Canadian inventors Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans filed a patent for an electric lamp that had different sized carbon rods and were held between electrodes in a nitrogen filled glass cylinder. The lamps were not a commercial success and they eventually sold their patent to Edison in 1879. In 1880 Edison then founded the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of New York. Edison had many wealthy investors, one of them being J.P. Morgan. The company created the first electrical generating station, it opened in 1882 on Pearl Street in lower Manhattan. The stations were to generate power to the electrical systems and the newly patented bulbs. 

Other inventors such as William Sawyer and Albon Man worked together in the invention of the incandescent electric lamp and had won several lawsuits against Edison. Sawyer and Man eventually joined forces with Edison after trying to open their own companies which had no commercial success. In 1882  Lewis Howard Latimer, a researcher for Edison, patented a more efficient way of manufacturing carbon filament and in 1903 Willis R. Whitney invented a treatment for the filament that would allow them to burn bright without darkening the inside of the glass bulb. 

In 1910 William David Coolidge, an American physicist who worked at General Electric, improved the company’s method of manufacturing the tungsten filaments. Tungsten has the highest melting point of any chemical element, Edison was aware that this could be an excellent material for the filaments however the machines needed to produce the super-fine wire were not available in the 19th century. Edison was able to succeed and become known as the father of electricity because he was able to not only develop a practical and inexpensive light bulb but also because he was able to place patents on the bulbs. 

Macro Photo of a modern bulb
Source: Allie Macias Photography

Today’s incandescent bulbs still use tungsten as the primary material for filaments. There are many more options for bulbs nowadays, aside from the incandescent bulbs there are also fluorescent bulbs as well as LEDs. Fluorescent bulbs work by heating a gas that then produces ultraviolet light. LEDs are thought to be the future of lighting due to the lower energy cost and the longer life than that of a traditional bulb. There are also “wireless bulbs” which companies like Phillips and Stack have begun to manufacture, these bulbs can be controlled via a smartphone and can be turned off or on quickly as well as dim. 

It took the minds of several intelligent men to develop a bulb that could be used in everyday life, although Edison is primarily known as the inventor it is important to also remember the inventors that came before and during his time, that helped the light bulb become more than just an idea and become a reality. 

What do you think about the history of light bulbs? Did you know anyone besides Edison had helped in the invention? Leave a comment below. 

Sources: 

https://www.livescience.com/43424-who-invented-the-light-bulb.html

https://www.fi.edu/history-resources/edisons-lightbulb

https://physicsworld.com/a/lighting-the-way/