The History of the Light Bulb

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.

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.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.n 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.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.

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.

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.