Most people believe that Thomas Edison was the true inventor of the electric light. However, the journey to create a practical incandescent lamp began long before him. In fact, several inventors were experimenting with electric lighting in the mid-1800s.
In 1845, a man named Henry Woodward and his partner, Mason, filed a patent for an electric lamp using carbon filaments in a vacuum. Later, Joseph Swan in England also experimented with carbonized paper as a filament. Unfortunately, the vacuum technology at the time wasn’t advanced enough, so the filaments burned out quickly—lasting only one or two hours. This made the lamps impractical for everyday use.
Things changed in 1878 when better vacuum pumps became available. Swan then improved his design and successfully demonstrated an incandescent lamp in 1879. Meanwhile, Edison, who had already invested heavily in electrical research, was working on similar ideas. He believed that the key to a longer-lasting bulb was using a more heat-resistant filament and improving the vacuum inside the glass.
Edison tested over 6,000 materials before finding success. On October 21, 1879, he used a carbonized cotton thread as a filament and created a bulb that lasted over 40 hours. This breakthrough led to the first commercially viable incandescent lamp, which Edison patented. His team soon developed even better versions, such as a carbonized bamboo filament, which significantly increased the lifespan of the bulbs.
In 1880, Edison established a factory in New Jersey to mass-produce his lamps. Soon after, a similar plant opened in Benville, near Newcastle, UK. While Edison is often credited with inventing the electric light in the U.S., the British attribute it to Joseph Swan. Both countries held centenary celebrations for their respective inventors—one in 1978 in the UK, and another in 1979 in the U.S.
The competition between Edison and Swan was intense, and legal battles over patents were inevitable. Eventually, they reached an agreement to form the Edison-Swan Electric Company, allowing them to share the market in the UK.
Over time, the incandescent lamp evolved. In 1908, American inventor William David Coolidge developed the modern tungsten filament, which could withstand extremely high temperatures. Tungsten’s high melting point (over 3,400°C) allowed for brighter, longer-lasting lights. However, even with this improvement, incandescent lamps remained inefficient—converting only about 2% of energy into light, with the rest lost as heat.
To improve efficiency, halogen lamps were introduced. These lamps use a small quartz tube filled with halogen gases like iodine or bromine. The halogen helps recycle the evaporated tungsten back onto the filament, extending its life. This process allows halogen lamps to last much longer than traditional incandescent bulbs and makes them ideal for focused lighting, such as in homes or offices.
Despite these advancements, incandescent bulbs are being phased out globally due to their inefficiency. In 2010, Australia became the first country to ban the sale of standard incandescent bulbs in an effort to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. As energy-saving alternatives like LEDs and CFLs become more popular, the era of the classic incandescent lamp is slowly coming to an end.
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