A Unique History of Light Bulb

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

Important People In The Life Of A Light Bulb

Sir Humphrey Davy is 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 to science of electricity.

In 1820 a fellow named Warren De la Rue also tried to create 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, 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 for perfect bulb, Frederick de Moleyns stepped up to plate in 1841. He used powdered charcoal filters as a conductor for light energy. He is 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. Around 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.

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 called voltage of light bulb. Amperage is energy a bulb uses to produce light. Watts is 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 strong 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 in light bulb then heats up, eventually producing a glow or "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