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Incandescent lamps have undoubtedly changed human civilization. With the advent of light bulbs, people can suddenly work and play late into the night without relying on open fire for lighting.

Although the influence of the electric light bulb is beyond doubt, its origin is worth discussing. The traditional view is that the American Thomas Thomas Alva Edison invented the electric light. He obtained the first two patents for incandescent lamps, the first in 1879 and the second in 1880. However, some historians think that it is too simple and rude to attribute all achievements to Edison. They thought that Edison did invent the light bulb, but it was only one of a series of similar inventions at that time.

Other experts say that although Edison's light bulb is better than its previous design, the main inventor of the light bulb should be Sir Joseph Wilson Swan, a British inventor who studied incandescent bulbs with Edison and later worked with Edison. But other historians object that this revision of history is an overcorrection. Edison was the inventor of the incandescent light bulb. Who is right and who is wrong in these statements?

A picture of Thomas Edison with a replica of the first incandescent lamp. The incandescent lamp, which emits the equivalent of 16 candles, is the forerunner of today's 50, 000-watt (150000 candle) bulb. The predecessor of BETTMANN / GETTYIMAGES to know Edison's contribution to the invention of the electric light bulb, we need to know the work of previous inventors. In the early 19th century, Italian inventor Alessandro Voda (Alessandro Volta) first put forward the concept of controlling current, which is marked by the production of a volt stack that can be used as a battery. If you think the name of the volt is familiar, maybe it is because the unit of voltage, the volt, is named after him.

The volt stack inspired British chemist Humphrey David (Humphry Davy) to design his own battery and use it to light up a homemade arc lamp that emits visible light in glass bubbles. David invented the arc lamp in 1806, more than 70 years ahead of Edison. But David's arc lamp is extremely bright and difficult to control, it needs a lot of electricity and its life is not long enough, so it is difficult to enter the homes of ordinary people. Although it can be used as an outdoor street lamp, it can not be used in the home.

Humphrey David (1778-1829) invented the early arc lamp, which glows by arc discharge, also known as volt arc. Chemists after WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (CC BY 4. 0) David realized that the key to making long-life incandescent bulbs lies in the choice of filaments. When electrified, the filament needs to be able to glow continuously without being burned out. British scientist James James Bowman Lindsay used copper wire to make light bulbs in 1835, and another Englishman, Warren Draju (Warren de la Rue), invented platinum wire light bulbs in 1840. These light bulbs obviously predate Edison's invention, but they are not practical enough. The life of Lindsay's copper bulb is too short, while Drajou's platinum wire is too expensive, despite its high melting point, which is a key breakthrough. These designs are also subject to underdeveloped vacuum technology, which results in residual air in glass bubbles. The air reacts with the filament, making it more difficult to light the bulb.

Edison made a breakthrough in the practical light bulb after years of experiments, Edison became the one who finally uncovered the secret of the practical light bulb. While working at Edison Electric, he improved a high-resistance cotton thread with a life span of 14 hours in the test. Compared with other filaments, its power consumption is also significantly lower. The Sprengel air pump, invented in 1877, also helped Edison, which greatly improved the vacuum pump technology to extract gas from glass bubbles. With the joint action of excellent vacuum and high resistance of cotton thread, the life of the filament is obviously improved. Edison applied for his first patent in 1879, and the United States Patent Office approved his application in January 1880. Later, Edison founded the Edison Lighting Company, which later built the first power plant in the United States.

Robert Friedel, an emeritus professor of history at the University of Maryland Park, believes it was Edison's emphasis on practicality and practical applications that made him unique in the history of light bulbs. "Edison's electric light bulb was the first bulb to be widely used, and that's what its inventors wanted to make." "he carefully identified the key factors for competitors' success: reliability, life, economy and beauty," Fredell explained.... he wanted to make a light bulb that met all these conditions-something that no one else could do. "

Edison, the other person who claimed to have invented the light bulb, was just one of several inventors dedicated to the sustainable light bulb in the 1870s. The British inventor Hiram Maxim applied for a patent for the electric light bulb almost at the same time as Edison, but his application was not approved until July 1880. Harold Shawbert, emeritus professor at Penn State University and author of Energy and Society, recalled: "I said in class that Maxim was so angry that the patent application was delayed, so he went home and invented the heavy machine gun." It's just a joke, of course, but Maxim's heavy machine gun is another far-reaching invention.

Maxim Maxim (1840 Muhammad 1916) invented the Maxim automatic machine gun, which can fire 770 rounds of ammunition per minute. Apart from Edison, Englishman Joseph Swan is perhaps the strongest contender for the title of inventor of the practical light bulb in Tu Yuan DEN STORE DANSKE. Swan has been studying electric lamps that use carbonized paper as filaments. He obtained a British patent for incandescent light bulbs in November 1880. His light bulb is more practical than Edison's invention. He lit up the Savoy Theater in London with his own light bulb. It is said that Swan's private house is the first building in the world to be illuminated entirely by electric lights. Edison sued Swan for patent infringement in an English court, which upheld him. In order to settle business disputes, Edison and Swan merged their respective businesses into a company called Ediswan and monopolized the British market. Some of the light bulbs they produce can still be used until the 21st century.

Joseph Swann (1828-1924) invented an early incandescent light bulb. His house in Gateshead, England, was the first in the world to install incandescent lights. When you think of Edison's famous competitor, many people think of Nikola Tesla, an American inventor who worked at the Edison Machine Factory in New York for several months. No one would say that Tesla invented the light bulb, but during his brief tenure, Tesla submitted a design for arc lights, which was pioneered by Humphrey David decades ago. Edison's own low-voltage design could not be extended to high-power arc lighting. For controversial reasons, Edison's company never put Tesla's design into production, and Tesla painfully left the company soon after-perhaps more to do with money than invention.

Nikolai Tesla (1856-1943) worked briefly at the Edison Machine Factory in New York City, where he submitted the design of arc lighting. Image source FACES OF THE WORLD / FLICKR/ (CC BY 2.0) so who invented the light bulb? Light bulbs and electric lights were not invented by a single person. Instead, it is co-created by a series of progressive inventions, each of which is based on its predecessors. Edison's patent reflects that he did not invent the first light bulb, but the first electric lamp that could be used on a large scale.

This continued evolution continues to this day, with fluorescent and LED technologies dominating the market, while the incandescent bulbs developed by Edison and Swan have long been phased out. The era of vacuum tubes and glass bulbs may be disappearing, but our goal is still to create the most practical and universal light bulbs for the present.

Patents protect past inventions, but Edison never gave up his own projects just because others came up with ideas first. "my favorite story about Edison was when he showed people around his laboratory in Merlot Park," Shawbert said. "A visitor asked what rules laboratory staff had to follow if they wanted to make inventions. Edison is said to have yelled,'We have no rules here! we're just trying to accomplish something!'"

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ID:cas-iop), author: Dylan Ris, translator: Tibetan idiot, revision: Nothing

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