The light bulbs you use in your house, workspace, and malls have not been here in the earlier times.
People used fire, candles, and other flammables to lighten their surroundings at night in ancient times, which were both expensive and harder to use.
Light bulbs are regarded as one of the most useful inventions of mankind due to their easiness and superior resistance capabilities.
Now, with the press of a single button, you can lighten up the whole house, street, or even a mall.
Lights bulbs are a common everyday thing that you see and use every single day
But wait, have you wondered how these magical light bulbs were invented?
In this blog post, we will walk you through the history of light bulbs, who invented light bulbs.
Enough saying, let’s check out the details.
Who Really Invented the Light Bulb?
Earlier in the days, people did not have any electrical light sources, they relied heavily on flames, fire, and candles to light their place.
All of these methods were extremely difficult and cost an arm and a leg.
Therefore, scientists started inventing something that was easier to operate, and easy on the pocket.
You may have heard that Thomas Edison was the inventor of the light bulb, but the fact is, he is not. He made an improved version of the light bulb, but he was not the first person to convert the electricity into light.
Humphry Davy is regarded as the inventor of the electric light bulb, and there were numerous changes done to the electrical light bulbs before Thomas Edison made a more practical version of the electric light bulb in 1879.
Role of Different Scientists in the Invention of Light Bulb
Humphry Davy (1802)
Sir Humphry Davy, a Cornish scientist, and inventor is the pioneer of electric light. He produced the first-ever electric light in the history of mankind.
In 1802, Humphry Davy amazed the world by producing electric light by the usage of a battery, and a piece of carbon.
When the electricity was passed through the carbon, it glowed. Although, the experiment was very successful, and it paved the way for the other scientists to work in a similar direction, still, the light lacked practicality.
The light produced by the carbon and battery was way too weak to be used commercially.
This light was known as the “Electric Carbon Arc Lamp“.
James Bowman Lindsay (1835)
James Bowman Lindsay was a Scottish scientist, who did the first-ever demonstration of light publicly.
It was the world’s first public demonstration, in which the public saw a light bulb, that could be operated by light, and he could read a book placed on 1.5-feet of distance.
Although it was a successful experiment, Lindsay failed to commercialize his invention, and his light-bulb remained a prototype.
Marcellin Jobard (1838)
Marcellin Jobard in 1838, just a few years after the public demonstration of the lightbulb by James Bowman, invented his own version of the incandescent bulb.
He used a carbon filament with a vacuum atmosphere for the incandescent bulb lightening. But his idea lacked practicality, and never went mainstream.
Warren de la Rue (1840)
Warren de la Rue was a British, born in Germany. He is regarded as the first creator of the electric bulb.
In 1940, Warren de la Rue demonstrated electric light by passing an electric current through platinum filament by using a vacuum.
This platinum filament with the vacuum was a very practical design, as it would work in all sort of conditions, and the light was marginal.
However, the project never went commercial as the platinum filament made the whole project very pricey.
Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans (1874)
Henry Woodward & Mathew Evans are the real inventors of the modern-day incandescent light. They demonstrated light by using carbon-rods mounting in a nitrogen-filled vacuum.
However, they failed to commercialize their product, and ultimately sold the rights to Thomas Edison. There, you don’t know about the workings of the Henry Wood & Mathew Evans.
Thomas Edison (1879)
Thomas Edison (regarded as the biggest inventor in the history of the USA) was born on 11 Feb 1847). Edison made countless contributions in the field of science.
The most notable invention is the electric light bulb. He tested for a very long period of time for the perfect filament for the light bulb.
A report indicates that Edison tested more than 6000 different substances to be used in his light bulb.
After trying and testing various materials, Edison finally chose Carbon Bamboo as the final outcome, as it could burn for 1200 hours before vanishing away.
More importantly, it was way cheaper to produce as compared to the prior substances used in the light bulbs.
Edison light bulb was the first-ever commercially produced electric light bulb. After that, there had been numerous changes in the design, and working procedure of the electric light bulb.
Conclusion on Who Invented the Light Bulb
Thomas Edison is regarded as the inventor of the electric light bulb. Actually, he is not. There are tens of other people who contributed to the invention of the light bulb.
Although Thomas Edison was the first person to commercialise the electric bulb, there had been successful demonstrations of the working of the electric light bulb before as well.
So, now you have a better idea of who invented the light bulb.
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