Louisse I. Pascua Mariah Danel E. Tolentino Janelle Yoanna S.

Villanueva

Gwen B. Tobias Febru Theodore M. Martin

The History of the Light Bulb

In The Beginning...

The history of the light bulb is filled with rivalry, failures and great achievements. The
electric light bulb has been called the most important invention since man-made fire.
The light bulb helped to establish social order after sundown, extended the workday
well into the night, and allowed us to navigate and travel safely in the dark. Without the
light bulb, there would be no nightlife. However, creating a steady and affordable
source of illumination was not as easy as many history textbooks suggest. The modern
light bulb is the result of many innovators' work and continuous improvements over 150
years.
1. 1700s

THE FIRST ARTIFICIAL SOURCES OF LIGHT

Before the arrival of electric lighting, people used a variety of tricks for navigating their
neighborhoods at night. In The Downs, an area near the English Channel, patches of
chalky soil were used as beacons known as down lanterns. In wooded areas, bark was
strategically cut from trees to expose the lighter wood underneath. However, on most
clear nights, the moon and starlight were strong enough to navigate at night.

In the 18th century, candles and oil lamps illuminated many light fixtures in most homes
and businesses. These early sources of illumination emitted a weak light, smoked, and
gave off foul odors. They were also dangerous and required constant attention. Wealthy
aristocrats used beeswax and spermaceti candles to light up their lavish households. The
middle class used cheap tallow candles while the poor used rushlights, makeshift
candles made from reeds dipped in animal or vegetable fat and ignited, which burned
for a short time.

2. 1800s

During the 19th century, gas lighting replaced candles and oil lamps in many homes,
businesses, and streets. Gas lamps produced a brighter and more efficient illumination.
They also cost 75 percent less than candles or oil lamps, and were easier and safer to
operate. By the 1850s, most city streets in the United States and Europe were
illuminated by gas lamps. Gas lighting is credited with reducing crime rates and
increasing literacy in many areas. As electricity became more widespread during the
turn of the century, gas lamps were replaced by incandescent lamps in streets,
businesses, and theaters.
3. 1802

THE FIRST ELECTRIC LIGHTS

In 1802, Sir Humphry Davy, an English physician, created the first electric light by
passing a current through a platinum strip. The glow did not last long, but it marked the
beginning of the history of light bulbs. In 1809, Davy demonstrated the first carbon arc
lamp at the Royal Institute in London by connecting two wires to a battery and attaching
a charcoal strip between the other ends of the wires. While the scientific community
and the public raved about the demonstration, the arc lamp burned too brightly and
consumed a large amount of current, which quickly drained the battery and rendered
the lamp impractical for commercial development and production. Several decades
passed before electric generators made arc lamps practical for street and theater
lighting.

4. 1875

In 1875, Pavel Nikolayevich Yablochkov, a Russian electrical engineer and inventor,

developed the first practical arc lamp known as the "Yablochkov Candle." Yablochkov
used two parallel carbon rods to extend the life of the battery. During the Paris World's
Fair of 1878, about 64 Yablochkov candles were installed on the Avenue de l'Opéra,
Plade du Théâtre Francais and around the Place de l'Opéra, earning the city the famous
nickname of "City of Lights." The success of the exhibition was influential in bringing
electric lighting to the masses, and arc lamps were soon installed on many streets in the
United States and Europe.
5. Arc lamps produced an intense, bright light that was ideal for illuminating streets and
outdoor spaces, but the dazzling lights were not suitable for indoor use. During the late
1880s, Thomas A. Edison and many other inventors began to experiment with
incandescent lamps in search for a reliable and economical form of indoor lighting. Arc
lamps were used for searchlights, lighthouses, stadium lights, film production lights, film
projector lamps, and other high-intensity lighting applications until the 1980s when
advancements in short-arc lamps made them obsolete.

THE FIRST INCANDESCENT LIGHT BULBS

Incandescent light bulbs use electricity to heat a carbon or metal base filament inside a
glass bulb until it becomes hot and emits a radiant glow. A vacuum keeps the filament
from burning up too quickly and blackening the interior of the glass bulb. Many of the
first incandescent light bulbs faced the same challenges - a poor vacuum design, inferior
and/or expensive filaments, and bulb blackening. However, these early experiments
were pivotal in the development of the first commercially viable incandescent light bulb.

6. 1841

In 1841, Frederick de Moleyns received the first patent for an incandescent lamp in
England. The lamp used a glass bulb, a partial vacuum and powdered charcoal between
two platinum filaments to emit light. However, the lamp was not efficient enough for
commercial use. The vacuum's poor design caused the bulb to darken at the top and
block light output, and the platinum filaments were too expensive.

7. 1865

In 1865, German chemist Hermann Sprengel invented a mercury-vacuum pump, known

as the Sprengel pump, that streamed mercury through a reservoir, T-junction and down
a duct to evacuate the air from the vacuum and steadily lower the pressure. Inventors
developing incandescent lamps quickly adopted the invention because it helped to
preserve the filament inside the bulb.
8. 1874

In 1874, Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans filed a patent for an incandescent light
bulb with a carbon filament in Canada and the United States. The light bulbs, although
they worked properly, sold poorly. They sold their patent to Thomas Edison in 1879.

9. 1878

In 1878, William E. Sawyer and Albion Man received the first U.S. patent for
"improvement of Electric Lights." The lamp consisted of a nitrogen-filled globe with a
carbon conductor, supported by large zigzagging radiators. The lamp’s rigid design
prevented the carbon conductor from expanding and contracting, causing the lamp to
break frequently. The first Westinghouse light bulbs were based on the Sawyer-Man
incandescent lamps.
WHO INVENTED THE INCANDESCENT LIGHT BULB: EDISON V. SWAN

In many textbooks, Thomas A. Edison is solely credited with inventing the modern
incandescent light bulb after 10,000 attempts. Edison, an undisputed visionary, was not
the only one competing to develop the first commercial incandescent bulb. Countless
chemists, physicists, and inventors clamored for the honor and substantial payoff.

In 1878, a young Edison stated that he could create a safer, cheaper, and more reliable
incandescent light to replace existing gas lights in just six weeks. The announcement
caused gas company stocks to plummet. At 31 years old, Edison had already earned the
nickname of the Wizard of Menlo Park for his innovation and inventions, including the
stock ticker, quadruplex telegraph and phonograph. He gathered financial backing and
assembled a team of 14 engineers, machinists, and physicists known as the “muckers” in
Menlo Park, NJ, to research and develop an incandescent light bulb. Notable team
members included American mathematician and physicist Francis Upton, American
mechanic Charles Batchelor, and Swiss-born machinist John Kruesi.

During this time, Edison and his team created several incandescent light bulb
prototypes, including a lamp with a platinum filament, which oxidized slowly and had a
high melting point. To prevent the filament from overheating and burning out, a
problem that plagued earlier inventors, he created a regulating system that
intermittently diverted the current away from the filament, permitting it to cool. The
system was difficult to manufacture and operate, and the light bulb itself would shut off
every few minutes, rendering the lamp impractical for commercial development.

At the same time, Sir Joseph Wilson Swan, an English chemist and physicist, was
independently working on an incandescent light bulb with a carbon filament. Swan
began working on the incandescent bulb three decades earlier, but like other early
inventors, he lacked a reliable vacuum and a suitable electric source to create a practical
light bulb. In late 1878, he reported to the Newcastle Chemical Society that he had
created a working incandescent lamp and he received a UK patent that same year. In
February 1879, Swan demonstrated a working lamp during a lecture at the Newcastle
Literary and Philosophical Society. His lamp design included an enclosed bulb with the
air removed, platinum lead wires, and light-emitting carbon element.
 Swan’s original incandescent lamp, while functional, was not practical for real-world
use. The carbon rod had low electrical resistance and required a large amount of current
to heat up and make the filament glow, which meant that the electric conductors to the
lamp had to be short or unreasonably thick. The rod also released gasses when the lamp
was turned on and dark soot quickly accumulated inside the glass, blocking light output.
Swan improved his design and eventually established his own electric lighting company,
The Swan Electric Light Company, in 1881.

10. 1879

In 1879, Edison and his team discovered that a thin filament with high electrical
resistance was more efficient. This meant that only a small amount of current and
reasonably sized copper cables were needed to make the filament glow. The team also
experimented with carbonized filaments made from baywood, boxwood, cedar, cotton,
hickory, and flax. On New Year's Eve, Edison demonstrated his new innovation to 3,000
guests at Menlo Park.

11. 1880

In 1880, Edison's team improved the light bulb with a bamboo filament that burned for
1,200 hours. The carbonized bamboo filament became the standard filament for the
next ten years. The same year, Edison received a second U.S. patent for incandescent
light bulbs. Representatives of the Edison Electric Light Company promoted the new
incandescent lamps by holding demonstrations at the Menlo Park lab and attending
trade shows and expositions all around the country. The demonstrations were designed
to associate Edison's name with the new lighting technology.

During this time, Edison pursued legal action after Swan after mutual allegations of
patent infringement. He lost and was forced to settle with Swan by making him a
partner in the British electric company. In 1883, the Edison Electric Light Company, Ltd.
merged with The Swan Electric Company and became the Edison and Swan United
Electric Light Company, Ltd. (commonly known as Ediswan). Edison bought Swan out of
the company after a few years.
 Thomas Edison did not invent the first light bulb; however, he did improve the design
and performance of the earliest incandescent lamps to create the first commercially
viable light bulb. He also developed other inventions that made the light bulb practical
to for everyday use. The Edison Screw, a system of screw mounts that ensures
compatibility between a light bulb and the base of a light fixture, and a complete
electrical lighting system (including feeders, switches and meters) not only capitalized
on his light bulb design, but it also made him a household name and secured his name in
the history books.

12. 1911

Edison's light bulb remained unaltered for several decades. In 1911, William D. Coolidge,
an American physicist at General Electric (GE), developed tungsten filaments that lasted
longer and burned brighter than carbon filaments. GE overhauled their bulb-making
equipment and began selling light bulbs with tungsten filaments, replacing the
carbonize bamboo filaments. In 1913, American chemist and physicist Irving Langmuir
discovered that filling a light bulb with an inert gas such as nitrogen and twisting the
filament lengthened the life of the tungsten filament. In 1925, Marvin Pipkin, an
American chemist and inventor, developed the frosted incandescent light bulb. Pipkin
also devised a silica coating process that helped diffuse light, reduce glare, and minimize
loss of light output.
13. 1956

The halogen light bulb was first introduced in 1959 by GE. These light bulbs, while an
adaptation of incandescent light bulbs, reduced the uneven evaporation of the filament
and darkening of the envelope by filling the lamp with halogen gas rather than an inert
gas. Halogen bulbs also lasted longer with an average life of 1,500 hours, and consumed
15 percent less energy.

Despite numerous improvements over the years, modern incandescent bulbs remained
inefficient. About ten percent of the electric power supplied to an incandescent light
bulb is actually converted into visible light. The remaining energy is wasted as heat.

14. 1970s

ENERGY CRISIS INSPIRES ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHTING

The U.S. oil crisis in the 1970s sparked interest in renewable sources of energy and
energy-efficient residential lighting. Lighting engineers began to adapt fluorescent
lighting for residential use. Fluorescent lamps had been in use since the 1930s, but they
were mainly used for commercial and industrial lighting.

In 1976, Edward E. Hammer, an engineer at GE, bent a fluorescent tube into a spiral
shape, creating the first compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL). GE initially shelved the
design because the machinery needed to mass produce the light bulbs was too
expensive at the time. The design was leaked and shortly thereafter, other
manufacturers began to produce the light bulb.
15. 1980s

During the mid-1980s, the first CFLs began to hit the market starting at $25 to $35.
Consumers were hesitant to embrace the new lighting technology due to its price, size,
and performance. Early CFLs were big and bulky, and did not fit in many light fixtures.
They light bulbs also emitted a low light and performed inconsistently.

Subsequent improvements in CFL prices, performance, and efficiency made them the
ideal choice for energy conscious homeowners and business owners. Today, CFLs use 75
percent less energy than traditional incandescent light bulbs. They also have an average
life 10,000 hours, about ten times longer than the average life of an incandescent bulb,
and cost as little as $1.71 per bulb.

LEDS LIGHT UP THE FUTURE

Light emitting diode (LEDs) are one of the fastest growing lighting technologies today.
LEDs are a type of solid-state lighting that uses semiconductors to convert electricity
into visible light. LEDs emit light in a specific direction, minimizing the needs for
reflectors and diffusers that can trap light, and absorb the heat produced via a heat sink.
In 1961, James R. "Bob" Biard and Gary Pittman at Texas Instruments discovered the
first light-emitting diode while attempting to create a laser diode.

The following year, Nick Holonyak Jr. at GE developed the first visible red diode. In 1972,
M. George Craford developed the first yellow diode. Craford, a graduate student of
Holonyak, also improved the red diode and developed red-orange diode. The same year,
 Herbert Maruska and Jacques Pankove developed the violet diode. As companies
improved red diodes and their production, they began to appear as indicator lights and
calculator displays during the late 1970s.

16. 1990s

During the 1990s, researchers focused their efforts on increasing the energy efficiency
of light-emitting diodes. In 1993, Shuji Nakamura developed the first bright blue light-
emitting diode, the last component needed to create bright white LED light. Shortly
thereafter, scientist experimented with blue, red, and green diodes by coating them
with phosphors to make them appear white.

17. 2000s

During the early 2000s, the first LED light bulbs hit the market. In 2008, the U.S.
Department of Energy announced the L Prize Competition, a competition designed to
push the development of ultra-efficient solid-state lighting products. In late 2009, Philips
Lighting North America entered its LED bulb in the competition's 60-watt replacement
category. The Department of Energy estimates that at the time, 971 million 60-watt
incandescent light bulbs were in use. In 2011, Philips Lighting won the L Prize 60-watt
replacement category after a rigorous review process. The winning light bulb cost $40
and was reported to last more than 27 years.

Since 2008, the price of LED bulbs has decreased more than 85 percent, making them an
affordable choice for illuminating homes, businesses, and public spaces. LED bulbs are
six to seven times more efficient than incandescent light bulbs, cut energy consumption
by 80 percent, and last 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs. In 2012, 49 million LED
products were installed in the U.S., saving about $675 million in annual energy costs.
THE LEGACY OF THE MODERN LIGHT BULB

The modern-day light bulb not only revolutionized home and work life, it also influenced
urban development and accelerated the economy. Many people migrated from rural
areas to the city in search for work. Late-night restaurants, businesses, and sporting
events provided new employment opportunities and entertainment. Electric light bulbs
created the practice of shift work, increased worker efficiency, and allowed for greater
productivity. They also improved working conditions, eliminated heat and pollution
caused by gas lighting, and reduced fire hazards. The cost of electricity was often offset
by the reduction of insurance premiums. Light bulbs also changed how products were
marketed to consumers and gave rise to bright billboards and signs.
https://www.delmarfans.com/educate/basics/who-invented-light-bulbs/

“Edison's Companies - The Edison Papers." The Edison Papers. http://edison.rutgers.edu/company.htm

(accessed January 29, 2014).

"Edison's Lightbulb at The Franklin Institute." The Franklin Institute. http://www.fi.edu/learn/sci-

tech/edison-lightbulb/edison-lightbulb.php?cts=electricity (accessed January 28, 2014).

Greenwood, Ronald and Charles D. Wrege. William E. Sawyer and the Rise and Fall of America’s First
Incandescent Electric Light Company, 1978-1881. https://www.h-
net.org/~business/bhcweb/publications/BEHprint/v013/p0031-p0049.pdf. (accessed January 28, 2014)

Henley, Jon. "Life before artificial light." The Guardian.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/31/life-before-artificial-light (accessed January 29,
2014).

"Lighting A Revolution: 19th Century Invention." Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/lighting/19thcent/invent19.htm (accessed January 29, 2014).

"Lighting A Revolution: 19th Century Promotion." Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/lighting/19thcent/promo19.htm (accessed January 29, 2014).

"Lighting a Revolution: Joseph W. Swan." Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/lighting/bios/swan.htm (accessed January 27, 2014).

Matulka, Rebecca, and Daniel Wood. "History of the Light Bulb." Energy.gov.
http://energy.gov/articles/history-light-bulb (accessed January 26, 2014). "Rural Electrification Act -
Ohio History Central." Ohio History Central.
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Rural_Electrification_Act (accessed January 29, 2014).

Oxlade, Chris. The Light Bulb (Tales of Invention). Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2012

"Sir Joseph Wilson Swan (1828 - 1914)." Joseph Swan: Biography.

http://www.kstc.co.uk/josephswan/home.html (accessed January 29, 2014).

Truini, Joseph. "What You Need to Know About the Lightbulb Law." Popular Mechanics.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/energy-efficient/what-you-need-to-know-
about-the-lightbulb-law-14789203 (accessed January 29, 2014).

Sekiguchi, Toko and Bryan Walsh. "Shuji Nakamura." Time.

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1604891,00.html (accessed January 29, 2014).

Whelan, M. "History of the Incandescent Light." Edison Tech Center.

http://www.edisontechcenter.org/incandescent.html (accessed January 29, 2014).