Electric lights were invented more than 150 years ago. With daylight becoming a supplemental source of light, a lot of changes were effected in almost all aspects of life. The light bulb changed society, the economy, health, entertainment, and nearly everything about American life.
Like all huge inventions, the invention of the light bulb cannot be credited to one person. There were a number of people trying to create a source of light besides the sun. one invention led to the other, and often the new inventor could make small improvements on a previous invention.
Thomas Edison’s Light Bulb
Thomas Edison began serious research on developing a practical incandescent lamp in 1878? he tested several materials for metal filaments to improve his original design. In 1879, Edison and his team discovered carbonized bamboo filament. He created the first incandescent light that was commercially practical. His discovery marked the beginning of commercially manufactured light bulbs and, later on, the founding of Edison Electric Light Company. Unlike the earlier versions, Edison’s light bulb had a higher vacuum, an effective incandescent material, and a high resistance that made it economically sensible to distribute power from a central location.
Lighting The Way with Incandescent Bulbs
Some years back, before Edison’s discovery and commercializing of the incandescent light bulb, British inventors had come up with the arc lamp that produced electric light. The first constant light was demonstrated in 1835, and for decades’ scientists around the world focused on the incandescent lamp. The bulbs produced, however, were costly, inefficient, and could not last long. When Edison and his researchers entered the lighting scene, their first goal was to improve the filament. Their discovery of the bamboo filament was a major breakthrough as it became standard for the Edison bulb for ten years.
Besides Edison, there are other inventors one cannot avoid mentioning when giving the history of the light bulb. Among these great inventors are William Sawyer, Abon Man, and Joseph Swan. What makes Edison’s contribution exceptional is the fact that he developed several other inventions that made use of light bulbs practical. He was also the first to develop an electric meter that monitored the amount of electricity each customer consumed.
Shifting Focus from The Incandescent Lamp
Different researchers and inventors made several improvements to the incandescent bulb. In 1904 European inventors came up with the tungsten filament, which led to the tungsten filament bulbs. These bulbs were brighter and lasted longer compared to carbon filament bulbs. For around 40 years, scientists were focused on improving incandescent bulbs and making them more efficient and affordable. In 1950 however, researchers realized that they were converting very little energy to light and embarked on creating other lighting solutions.
Fluorescent Breakthroughs
Two Germans, Heinrich Geissler and physician Julius, invented the Geissler tube that led to the production of discharge lamps. The discharge lamp lights became popular in the 20th century when researchers began to focus on ways to improve efficiency. They became the basis of several lighting technologies, including fluorescent lights.
Peter Cooper Hewitt’s breakthrough in the 1890s brought the most attention to fluorescent lamps. Hewitt’s lamps were more energy efficient compared to incandescent bulbs, but they had few uses because of the color of the light. In the early 1930s, European researchers discovered a way of absorbing ultraviolet light and converting invisible light into useful white light. Fluorescent lights were then quickly adopted in American war plants.
Fluorescent lights had a longer lifespan and were three times more efficient than incandescent bulbs. With the emergence of the fluorescent lamp, there were a lot more discoveries and inventions, including residential fluorescent lamps and compact fluorescent light (CFL), in the mid-1980s. The CFLs were costly, big, bulky, could not fit well into fixtures, had low light output, among other issues. Beginning in the 1990s, however, the CFLs became cheaper, more efficient, and better performing, which led to their increased use.
The Light Emitting Diode Lighting(LED)
The discovery of practical visible LED (Light Emitting Diode) in 1962 by Nick Holanyac was fundamental to the development of LED lighting. LED bulbs work by converting electric current to light directly, using a diode that produces photons. They are highly applicable in businesses and modern technology like computers and smartphones. LED lights are designed to use heat sinks to absorb the heat energy produced during the lighting process and then release it to the surroundings, preventing the bulb from overheating. LED bulbs also contain a DRIVER whose main purpose is to convert high voltage alternating current to low voltage direct current.
Advantages of LED lights to include:
- They require a minimal amount of electricity compared to incandescent lights.
- The long durability-the heat sink in LEDs absorb the extra heat to prevent the bulb from overheating, increasing durability. They can also withstand a lot of impact without breakage.
- Directional light-LEDs produce light in a specific direction, increasing the efficiency of the usage of the light. Majority of the Industrial LED lights are known for their powerful directional nature.
- High brightness-LEDs-these are capable of emitting extremely bright light without burning out.
- Variety of colors-LEDs lights come in a wide range of colors depending on the color filter of the diode.
- Low heat production-LEDs operate by transforming electric current to light directly; hence no heat is required to heat the filament compared to incandescent lights.
- Environmental Friendly-LED lighting does not require toxic chemicals hence better for the planet.
Disadvantages
- High-cost-LEDs manufacturing requires a lot of resources. Hence they are costly to purchase.
- Change in color quality-overheating can cause a lowering of brightness over time.
