Light bulb

History of The Light Bulb

By smaddox

  • First Electric Light

    First Electric Light
    Humphrey Davy was the first to invent the electric light.

  • First design of a light bulb

    First design of a light bulb
    British scientist Warren de la Rue took a vacuum and encosed a coiled platinum filament inside it. This was the first "design".

  • Joseph Wilson Swan's light bulb

    Joseph Wilson Swan's light bulb
    Joseph Wilson Swan enclosed carbonized paper filaments in an evacuated glass bulb.

  • First Working Prototype

    First Working Prototype
    Swan created a working prototype, but lacked a good vacuum and an adequate supply of electricity. This resulted in a short lifetime of the bulb.

  • Better Vacuums

    Better Vacuums
    Better vacuum pumps became available and he was able to create a better bulb.

  • The Lamp

    The Lamp
    Henry Woodward filed a patent for a lamp. They built them in all different sizes. They attempted to commercialize them but were unsuccessful.

  • Longer Lasting Bulb

    Longer Lasting Bulb
    Swan created a longer lasting light bulb using a cotton thread. This resolved the conflict of early blackening of the bulb.

  • Research

    Thomas Edison started researching the lamp and trying to improve it as well as to create a better bulb.

  • Sold to Edison

    Sold to Edison
    Woodward sold their patent to Thomas Edison.

  • Electric Lamp

    Electric Lamp
    Edison filed a patent for an electric lamp.

  • Marketing

    Marketing
    Edison Electric Light Company started manufacturing and supplying their new product.

  • Carbonized Bamboo Filament

    Carbonized Bamboo Filament
    Edison and his team discovered a carbonized bamboo filament that lasts over 1200 hours.

  • Tungsten

    Tungsten
    The General Electric Company patented a new method of making tungsten filaments.

  • Improved Tungsten

    Improved Tungsten
    William David Coolidge created a method of creating the longest lasting tungsten filaments.

  • Frosted lights

    Frosted lights
    The first frosted lights were created.

  • Adjustable lights

    Adjustable lights
    The first adjustable lights for car headlamps were invented.

  • Neon lights

    Neon lights
    The first neon lights were created.

  • Camera lights

    Camera lights
    The lights that flash one time in cameras were invented.

  • Tanning lamp

    Tanning lamp
    The tanning lamp was invented.

  • "soft" light

    "soft" light
    The first "soft" light bulb was invented.

  • Quartz Glass Bulb

    Quartz Glass Bulb
    The quartz light bulb was invented.

  • Halogen light bulb

    Halogen light bulb
    The Halogen light bulb was invented.

  • Low wattage

    Low wattage
    The low wattage metal halides were invented.

  • long life

    long life
    Long life bulbs were invented.

  • Compact Fluorescent bulb

    Compact Fluorescent bulb
    The compact fluorescent bulb was created.