A Unique History of the Light Bulb

Written by Antigone Arthur


A Unique History ofrepparttar Light Bulb

Most people assume that Thomas Edison inventedrepparttar 145421 light bulb. This is only partially true however. Historically speaking, many people helped developedrepparttar 145422 modern incandescent bulb. Though Thomas Edison's achievements were by farrepparttar 145423 most significant, there are several others that deserve some credit.

Important People In The Life Of A Light Bulb

Sir Humphrey Davy isrepparttar 145424 first person to create artificial light. While conducting experiments Davy passed an electric arc of energy between two poles. The resulting "light" had a short life but nonetheless contributed torepparttar 145425 science of electricity.

In 1820 a fellow named Warren De la Rue also tried to createrepparttar 145426 incandescent light bulb. Using a platinum coil, la Rue passed a current of electricity through a tube. This successful resulted in a light "bulb" or sorts. However,repparttar 145427 platinum coil used proved way too expensive to mass-produce. Thus la Rue's creation served more as a research tool than anything else.

Still searching forrepparttar 145428 perfect bulb, Frederick de Moleyns stepped up torepparttar 145429 plate in 1841. He used powdered charcoal filters as a conductor for light energy. He isrepparttar 145430 first person granted a patent for creating incandescent lamps. Then, Edward Shepard less than a decade later used a charcoal filament to create an incandescent lamp. Like its predecessors, this light was short-lived. Aroundrepparttar 145431 same time a man named Joseph Swan also started using carbon as filaments. Carbon provided a lower cost and more efficient filament material than other metal alternatives.

In 1854 a German worker created a filament using carbonized bamboo. This successfully produced an incandescent electric bulb. The light bulb hadrepparttar 145432 same problem as its predecessors however. Short life spans seemed to plaguerepparttar 145433 early inventors of light for many years before Edison stepped on torepparttar 145434 scene. In 1860 Joseph Swan displayed a decent light bulb using carbonized filaments. His problem however, was failure to create a proper vacuum and enough electricity to product a lasting light.

How A Light Bulb Works and Other Interesting Tidbits

Written by Antigone Arthur


How A Light Bulb Works and Other Interesting Tidbits

Light Bulb Science

Ever wonder how a light bulb works? I mean it seems easy, you flick a switch and "bam" there is light! While not much more complicated than that, there is a little science involved.

To understand how a light works you need to understand certain terms including voltage, watt and amperage. The energy a light bulb produces is calledrepparttar voltage ofrepparttar 145420 light bulb. Amperage isrepparttar 145421 energy a bulb uses to produce light. Watts isrepparttar 145422 electrical flow or energy produced by a light bulb. This tells you how much electrical energy flows through your light bulb within any given second.

In simple terms voltage refers to how strongrepparttar 145423 force of electricity is that flows through a bulb. Current tells you how fast electricity flows and resistance tells you how much space a current has to pass through. All of these factors impact your light bulbs performance.

When you flip a light switch, a current of electricity passes through your light bulb. The filament inrepparttar 145424 light bulb then heats up, eventually producing a glow orrepparttar 145425 "light" we are used to seeing. Believe it or not, most light bulbs are more adept at producing heat than they are at producing light. Traditional incandescent bulbs waste far more energy than other sources of light simply because a light bulb produces so much heat. That is of course unless you use your light bulbs to heat a room!

Now, most people go for cheap light bulbs. Why not? Cheap incandescent bulbs produce a sufficient amount of light and come in various shapes and styles.

You may find however, with a little experimentation your needs are best met with another bulb.

Let's look at some lighting preferences to decide what bulb may work best for you.

High Quality Light

If you want lots of high quality, natural looking light surrounding you there is no doubt about it... full spectrum light bulbs arerepparttar 145426 best choice for you. Full spectrum light bulbs provide bright lighting. The "white light" or natural light they produce is equal in intensity to outdoor daylight. Full spectrum bulbs are a good choice for anyone looking for a pick-me-up. These bulbs provide a full array ofrepparttar 145427 ultraviolet spectrum.

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