Who invented and what is the history of the invention of the incandescent lamp. Who actually invented the light bulb The history of the origin of the light bulb for children

American inventor Thomas Edison is credited with developing the first practical light bulb in 1879. However, the story of the invention of the light bulb is not so simple, as it involved many scientists, each of whom made contributions that ultimately led to this achievement - an affordable, durable and safe incandescent light bulb that generates light over time.

History of electric lighting

To find out who invented the light bulb, we first need to go back more than 200 years to the laboratory of Humphry Davy, a prominent English chemist and inventor. In 1800, Davy attached two carbon stick wires to a battery, allowing him to demonstrate a bright arc of light between the carbon electrodes. This led to the introduction of the electric arc lamp, the first widely used type of electric light and the first commercially successful form of electric lamp. Of course, various inventors improved on Davy's design by adding spring systems, as well as rare earth salts to the electrodes, which increased the brightness of the arc.

Electric arc lamps have been popular for decades due to their high brightness, capable of illuminating huge factory interiors or entire streets. For much of the 19th century, it was the only type of electric lighting for large areas and was the cheapest option for street lighting compared to gas or oil lamps. However, the carbon rods had to be replaced so often that it became a full-time job. Moreover, the lamps emitted dangerous ultraviolet radiation, created noise and flickering when lit, and posed a serious fire hazard. Many buildings, such as theaters, burned down as a result of excessive heat and sparks created by electric arc lamps. Although these lamps were suitable for streets and huge halls, they were completely impractical for lighting houses and small spaces.

The world needed better lighting technology, and many inventors worked hard to find the perfect solution. Fame and fortune were certainly promised to those who succeeded. But the path turned out to be riddled with many problems.

Vacuum

In 1840, British physicist Warren de la Rue proposed a new light bulb design that involved firing a platinum coil inside a vacuum tube to minimize exposure to oxygen. However, the high cost of platinum prevented this design from becoming a commercial success. In 1841, Frederic de Moleyens presented the first patent for an incandescent vacuum tube.

Then, in 1850, Sir Joseph Wilson Swan began working on a light bulb using carbonized paper filaments instead of platinum in a vacuum glass bulb. By 1860, a British inventor had received a patent for a partial vacuum incandescent lamp with a carbon filament. The problem with this device was that it lacked a vacuum and an adequate electrical source, making it ineffective, the lamp burning out too quickly.

Joseph Swan later made some improvements. At first he worked with carbon paper threads, but found that they burned quickly. Finally, in 1878, Swan demonstrated a new electric lamp in Newcastle, England, which used carbon filament derived from cotton. Swan's light bulb could last 13.5 hours, making his home the first home in the world to be illuminated by electric light. In November 1880, Swan received a UK patent for his invention.

American inventor and businessman Thomas Edison closely followed developments. He realized that the main problem with Swan's original design was the use of thick carbon filament. Edison believed that it should be thin and have high electrical resistance. He adapted designs from an 1875 patent he acquired from inventors Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans, demonstrating his incandescent lamp in December 1879 that could last 40 hours. Edison's use of finer filaments and better vacuum gave him an advantage in the race. He then sued Swan for patent infringement.

By 1880, Edison's bulbs lasted 1,200 hours and were quite reliable. However, this breakthrough required extensive testing, using more than 3,000 incandescent lamp samples between 1878 and 1880. What's more, Edison's engineers in Menlo Park tested more than 6,000 plants to determine which type of carbon would burn the longest, finally settling on carbonized bamboo filament. Most modern incandescent lamps use tungsten filaments.

Later, Edison's researchers gradually improved the design and production of the threads. In the early 20th century, Edison's team introduced filament enhancements that stopped the darkening of the interior surfaces of glass bulbs.

Unfortunately for Edison, Swan's patent proved to be a strong claim - at least in the United Kingdom. Eventually, they joined forces and created Edison-Swan United, which later became the world's largest light bulb manufacturer.

In 1880, Edison also founded the Edison Electric Illuminating Company in New York, which was financed by JP Morgan. This company built the first power plants that powered the new patented light bulbs. Edison Electric would later merge with the companies of two other inventors, William Sawyer and Albon Maine, and later still with the Thomson-Houston Company, eventually becoming the General Electric Company, which to this day is one of the largest corporations in the world.

Who invented the light bulb

Edison was not the first inventor to work on light bulbs. In fact, by the time he began working on his first projects, the light bulb already existed and about 20 different inventors around the world were preparing their patents. At the same time, many Russian inventors were working on their devices (Lodygin, Kon, Kozlov and Bulygin). Edison's design was simply the most practical, which explains its worldwide success.

To everyone who knew but forgot, and to those
who wants to satisfy children's interests,
dedicated.

Do you remember how, as a child, you ran around the apartment to your parents with questions: what kind of thread in the lamp burned out? And in general, how can that same burnt thread glow? Why is it that if you put a lamp in your mouth, you can’t get it out without a doctor? Why is the lamp round like a pear? And whose lamp is it, which Ilyich?

And now you and I have grown up and forgotten about all such questions. Let's try to figure it out without boring scientific terms and super-boring theory.

You walk into a store, your eyes widen at the number of different lamps on the shelves. So who is the author of this invention? In fact, more than one generation of scientists have worked to create lighting in our homes.

In any historical facts, inaccuracies appear over time, or they are deliberately turned upside down. Believe me, the creation of the lamp was no exception. Much is far-fetched, much is an attempt to pull the blanket to one’s side. I will not describe everyone who worked on the creation of the lamp at different times. Let's look at the most basic development milestones. Due to discrepancies in facts in the huge number of sources studied, I will indicate the time period somewhere in order to avoid mistakes.

It all started back in 1802, when experiments were carried out on such a physical phenomenon as the electric arc in the Russian Empire. The scientist Vasily Petrov conducted these experiments. The consequence was the creation of an arc lamp based on carbon electrodes.

By the beginning of the second decade of the nineteenth century, the English scientist Humphry Davy conducted very similar experiments. Later it turns out that both Petrov and Davy wrote scientific articles in which they described the possibility of using electric current in lighting.

The next milestone is considered to be the creation of a lamp by the famous astronomer and corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences - Warren De La Rue. His lamp looked like a tube with a platinum spiral. The air was pumped out of the tube as much as possible. Even then it was believed that light diverges better in a vacuum, and the light source does not oxidize. The generally accepted version is that this lamp was introduced in 1820, but this is not so. Warren De La Rue was born in 1815, and it turns out that he invented the lamp at age 5. This is how facts become distorted over time. In fact, the lamp was created in 1840.

Next, we will try to lift the veil of secrecy over who first invented the image of the modern lamp - Lodygin or Edison? Actually Lodygin. But not everything is so simple. In 1872, the first example of a lamp similar to the modern one appeared. It looked like a ball with evacuated air, in which a thread was placed between the conductors. Yes, you heard right, this was the progenitor of the incandescent lamp, although at that time the filament was carbon. The inventor received patent number 1619 only two years later, on July 11, 1874. Then, for the first time, a filament incandescent lamp was patented, and it was done by the great Russian engineer Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin. About a year later, V.F. Didrikhson improved the lamp by adding several more filaments; if one burned out, the next one was automatically turned on.

But then Thomas Edison entered the game. He spent the then astronomical sum of one hundred thousand dollars, and tried more than six thousand thread materials before returning to charred bamboo fiber. He produced not much more than two dozen lamps. But they were incredibly expensive to produce. Later he used a cotton-based thread placed between platinum electrodes. These were very short-lived and expensive lamps, but this did not stop them from being sold successfully for the next few decades.

Simultaneously with Edison's research, Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin continued to work on improving the lamp. Lodygin spent a long time researching lamps with filaments made of refractory materials. He received several more patents for lamps of different shapes and operating principles. But events occurred that forced Alexander Nikolaevich to leave his homeland for 23 years. In 1884, mass arrests and executions of people involved in the revolutionary movement began, among whom were many friends of our engineer, and this was the reason for his departure. In the same year, lamp production was organized in Paris, where he went. The inventor was worried that he would not be able to personally participate in the Third Electric Exhibition in St. Petersburg, but he still sent a batch of lamps to the exhibition. In 1893, he began producing lamps with a brightness of “100-400 candles”, and a year later he opened the lamp manufacturing company Lodygin and de Lisle. In 1906 Lodygin sold the patent to a US company - General Electric. Alexander Nikolaevich himself moved to the USA and continued to research refractory metals, and in the same year he opened a plant in America for processing titanium, chromium and tungsten, which became the main supplier of tungsten for incandescent lamps. By the way, there is another little-known fact: he invented the induction and resistance furnaces that melted metal at his plant himself.

Since the sale of the patent to General Electric, it began to develop lamp production. After some time, the company's engineers made the lamp as we see it today. In Russia, an incandescent lamp appeared in every home after the electrification of the entire country was carried out according to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s plan. Hence the name – Ilyich’s Light Bulb.

The answer to the question: why is the lamp round is actually simple. It’s just that the bulb is equidistant from the hot filament so as not to overheat on one side and burst. In addition, this form eliminates as much as possible the deposition of tungsten evaporation products on one side. The thread is very thin, so any sudden movement can cause the thread to break. The flask is filled with an inert gas to minimize oxidation and destruction of the filament. There are 2 wires inside the base, one is the input of electricity from the base (from the thread), and the second is under the base, the current output from the lamp is isolated from it. The base is of this shape simply because it is easier to replace the lamp.

The last question remains: why can’t you get a lamp that a child (or maybe not a child) put in his mouth without a doctor? It's actually quite simple. It’s just that the muscles of the oral cavity are designed in such a way that the mouth can open to its maximum width only after it has been completely closed, otherwise a muscle spasm occurs. And then the doctors will either open the mouth completely with a special device, or give a relaxing injection. Do not try to check the validity of the statement for yourself, it can be dangerous.

I hope you had a good time, see you again on the pages of our blog!

Attempts to overcome darkness and drive it away have been made by people since ancient times. To do this, they used a variety of lighting sources: oil poured into a clay vessel and a burning wick, torches, torches, candles made of wax and lard. But all such lamps “worked” from an open flame source and were a fire hazard. A new era in the history of lighting was the invention of electricity and the first lamp at the end of the 19th century.

The first attempts to create a constant light source that would operate from an electrical network. It is noteworthy that there were already three of those who invented the incandescent lamp.

Russian scientist Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin is the inventor who created the incandescent lamp. It used a carbon rod that was calcined without oxygen and placed in a hermetically sealed vessel. The vacuum inside did not allow the filaments to oxidize quickly, which extended their service life. Subsequently, Lodygin proposed using tungsten threads or molybdenum threads twisted into spirals.

Lodygin is the first to invent a light bulb and receive a patent

Englishman Joseph Wilson Swan received a patent in 1878. This was an improved version of Lodygin’s lamp: there was a rarefied oxygen atmosphere inside the flask, which increased its service life.

When did Thomas Edison first demonstrate the light bulb? His patent dates back to 1879. The inventor suggested using a platinum thread, but a year later he returned to carbon fiber. Thanks to hard work and thousands of experiments, Edison managed to get a lamp that worked for more than 1.2 thousand hours. The inventor also actively promoted his invention, participated in the creation of centralized power supply and lighting, and organized the first lamp production company.

Edison is called the "father" of electric lamps

Do not assume that scientists “stole” the idea from each other. Who then invented the first electric light bulb, reminiscent of the modern one? Similar experiments were carried out in different countries independently of each other; it was not difficult to obtain almost the same result.

Her appearance

The very first - experimental - light bulb was an elongated tube, inside of which there were platinum strips, to which current was supplied. The design did not change much later: the threads twisted in a spiral, the tube took on the shape of a pear.

For comparison: Lodygin’s lamp was made in the form of a thin coal stick, which was clamped with copper rods. All this was placed in a round glass ball.

Lodygin's lamp was unlike modern ones

Edison's lamp was a flask from which the air was pumped out. A thin coal rod was burning. However, the inventor did not stop at one light bulb: thanks to his improvements (the invention of a screw base, socket, fuses, switches, etc.), the operating time of the lamps increased.

Characteristics, advantages and disadvantages

In the 21st century, many are gradually switching to energy-saving and LED lamps, but incandescent lamps also have their advantages:

• Instant combustion and no interruptions in operation;
• They can operate on both direct and alternating current;
• Wide range: you can choose a light bulb with a suitable temperature, voltage, brightness;
• Small sizes;
• Environmental friendliness;
• Low price.

Lamps may look different

The disadvantages of the devices include:

• Low efficiency;
• Fragility;
• Low service life;
• Fire hazard.

Despite their shortcomings, incandescent lamps were extremely popular for several decades and quickly replaced conventional lighting sources.

Stages of development

Lodygin, Swan and Edison are the creators of modern lamps, but not the first light bulb in general. The device has come a long way in its development:

In 1840, the English astronomer De la Rue, during an experiment, placed a platinum wire in a glass vacuum tube and passed a current through it. This was the first electric lamp, the operating principle of which formed the basis for subsequent inventions.

The first lamps were significantly different from modern ones

Coal threads appeared only in 1844. The idea was expressed and tested by the American Star, who managed to obtain a patent, but soon died.

Important! In 1840 in Russia, Milashenko began work on the creation of carbon filaments, but did not get any results.

In 1854, German watchmaker Goebel used charred bamboo thread instead of charcoal thread. The vacuum at the top of the tube was created using mercury. Such a lamp could work for several hours and became the prototype of the modern one.

In 1860, Swan also demonstrated his lamp and even received a patent, but his invention did not burn long and was ineffective. However, in a few years the inventor will become one of the creators of the “real” light bulb.

1874 - Lodygin received a patent.

The first light bulb worked about the same as the “younger” ones.

In 1875, Lodygin's device was improved by the Russian electrical engineer Didrikhson. The latter completely pumped out the air from the flask and used several threads so that when one burned out, the other would automatically turn on.

In 1875-1876, electrical engineer Yablochkov invented the arc lamp. He used a kaolin filament that could work outside of a vacuum and did not burn out in air, but his invention did not gain fame.

The first tungsten filaments began to be used in 1905 (the Austro-Hungarians Just and Hanaman received the patent a year earlier). Soon, tungsten replaced all other materials.

The problem with the rapid evaporation of filaments in a vacuum was solved at the beginning of the twentieth century: the American Langmuir began to use inert gases.

Today they use tungsten filament

The history of modern incandescent lamps is closely connected with electricity. After its invention, research began in different countries, which led to the appearance of the “Electric Candle”. And although the Russian Lodygin was the first to receive a patent, Edison is considered the “father” of the light bulb, who not only improved his invention, but also did a lot to popularize it.

Who invented the light bulb? The answer to this question is not entirely accurate. The light bulb was invented by several people, as different people expressed ideas, described hypotheses, published calculations, made drawings, or put ideas into practice.

Lamps before the advent of the electric analogue

In the world, lighting appeared as soon as fire began to be used. Then it began to evolve when energy began to appear.

The first light bulbs were illuminated using such means as:

• any vegetable oil;
• oil;
• wax;
• animal fat;
• natural gas and so on.

The very first inventions of lamps used fat for lighting. A fabric wick was placed in a container with fat. The fat allowed the fire to illuminate for a long time. What came out was something resembling a candle in a container. The history of the light bulb progressed when oil began to be extracted, at which time the kerosene lamp appeared. She became so in demand in a short period of time. The invention of the light bulb came at a time when electricity began to spread rapidly, first in urban spaces, and then in far corners.

Opening stages

The invention of light bulbs was based on the method of glowing conductors when an electric current passed through them. He was known long before the light bulb was created. But the main problem of effective, long-lasting and affordable lighting from the electrical network was the search for a material that would be used to make an incandescent coil. Back then, when electricity was already a reality, and modern incandescent lamps had not yet been invented, scientists practiced only a few types of materials, including coal, platinum and tungsten. The last two materials were considered rare and expensive. Coal was a more accessible material.

Beginning in the 19th century, events took place that contributed to the creation of the first electric light bulb. In 1820, the French scientist Delarue created a light bulb with platinum wire. The wire warmed up and glowed, but it was just a prototype. But 18 years later, a researcher from Belgium, Jobart, showed a carbon incandescent lamp. In 1854, the German scientist Heinrich Goebel used bamboo as a source of lighting.

Who is the author of the light bulb?

If you are interested in the answer to the question - who invented the lamp, it is necessary to take into account that there was a whole series of successive manipulations when the ideas of predecessors were constantly picked up and subsequently developed. Yablochkov is the first Russian inventor who invented the first light bulb, and he also invented the electric candle, thanks to which they subsequently began to illuminate city streets and squares. They could illuminate for 1.5 hours.

Subsequently, lamps were invented that had automatic replacement of candles. Yablochkov created not very convenient candles. Although they did their job very well.

The history of the invention is connected with the name of such a popular engineer from Russia as Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin. In 1872, he made everyone's dream of an uninterrupted light source come true. The history of the creation of the incandescent lamp at this stage began to rapidly gain practical use. It burned for about 30 minutes. They were first installed on the streets of the Northern capital in 1873. That same year, the inventor of the light bulb received a patent. We can conclude. The first incandescent lamp appeared thanks to the inventions of this scientist.

Beginning in 1890, Lodygin began experimenting with the use of various refractory metals in filaments. Ultimately, he was able to use tungsten for the first time here. In addition, at his suggestion, they began for the first time to pump air out of the lamps and fill them with gas.

In 1878, Joseph Swan helped pioneer the modern version of the light bulb. It consisted of a glass bulb with a carbon filament. Little is known about the creator of Hiram Maxim lamps. They created a machine gun called “Maxim”. In addition, he is the creator of the original model based on materials such as coal and gasoline.

Thomas Edison and Ilyich

If we take into account the chronological order of events, then the electric lamp was created by Lodygin. But Yablochkov was the founder of a series of ideas that became the reason for the emergence of a lighting source that is popular today. It was these Russian inventors and the subsequent developments of researchers from Great Britain and America that were able to use the first electric light bulb so widely and it turned out to be an ordinary device that produced light. But when an idea develops, there is the one who gave birth to it, and the one who received the patent. But the invention of the arc lamp is not so well known.

In 1879, Edison's light bulb with a platinum filament was first demonstrated. A year later, he was given another patent for a model with a carbon thread that worked for 40 hours. In addition, he made a certain contribution to the manufacture of the incandescent light bulb, creating the base, socket and switch.

That is, Thomas Edison received a patent for an electric incandescent lamp as his own invention a year later, as Maxim’s model was used, and almost 6 years later after the general display of Lodygin’s lamp. T. Edison's patent work had its own results: when he teamed up with Joseph Swan, he founded a company producing the very first model of incandescent electric lamps. T. Edison, together with H. Maxim, when they competed against each other, were in bureaucratic proceedings among themselves.

T. Edison was more accessible. H. Maxim was not awarded a single patent in this struggle, and he also had huge financial losses, for this reason he left the country and went to Europe. Everything is clear with Edison's light bulb.

But who is the founder of Ilyich’s light bulb? For the current generation, the answer is ambiguous. Such a name was known only on the territory of the Soviet Union; this term ended up in the vocabulary of Russians. Ilyich's light bulbs are the name of not just a lighting device, but a whole series of phenomena. In 1921, a deep economic crisis reigned in Russia, which broke out as a result of the well-known civil war. And at this time, the State Commission for Electrification of the Russian Federation adopted the GOELRO plan. It was a plan for the development of the economy, which was based on the creation of an energy base. At this time, they began to electrify the country on a huge scale. Soon, electric light bulbs began to appear in villages where mainly beam or kerosene lamps were used.

The idea of ​​this plan was voiced by Lenin. For this reason, incandescent lamps began to be named after him. Such models began to heat up very quickly. Edison's light bulbs are known today for the reason that he was able to patent his invention in time. In our country, light bulbs with incandescent rods began to be associated with the name of Lenin, because he was the first to supply Russia with economical electricity.

The first incandescent light bulb, along with cinematography, telephone and radio, was invented in the 19th century. In this case, it is impossible to say for sure who invented the first incandescent lamp, since this process followed several paths at once over a long period of time.

Who first invented the light bulb

Work on the first and incandescent lamps took place independently, in different countries and at different times. The first experiments were carried out by the Englishman Delarue in 1809, when he managed to construct the very first device equipped with a platinum thread.

Following this, a coal lamp appeared, created by the Belgian Jobard in 1838, and in 1854, the German Heinrich Hebel first used a vessel with a vacuum inside.

The vacuum vessel was finally patented in 1860 by the Englishman Joseph Wilson Swan. However, there were technical difficulties in obtaining a vacuum, therefore, its light bulb was characterized by low efficiency and fragility.

In 1874-1875, Russian engineers Lodygin and Didrikhson produced a lamp with an incandescent filament from a carbon rod placed in a vessel with a vacuum. In one of the designs, several threads were used, duplicating each other when burned out.

In parallel, the same experiments with incandescent light bulbs were carried out by Thomas Edison in the late 70s of the 19th century. He managed to create a lighting device with a service life of up to 40 hours. These lamps replaced gas lighting. Lodygin's improved lamps began to contain in their design tungsten or molybdenum filaments twisted in the shape of a spiral. Better pumping of air from glass flasks was carried out, thereby protecting the threads from premature oxidation and failure.

By the early 20th century, the incandescent light bulb had taken on the final forms that are still in use today. Despite the huge variety of models, the main structural elements in them are exactly the same.

Incandescent lamp elements

Despite the fact that the question of who invented the light bulb remains open, this device ultimately acquired the features that we are accustomed to seeing to this day.

The main element of the lamp is a glass bulb that protects the filament from external influences. The dimensions of the flask depend on the speed at which the spiral material is deposited on the glass. The inside of the bulb of most lamps is filled with inert gases. Vacuum is found in the bulbs of light bulbs with low power.

The filament is made in the form of a spiral of round or ribbon wire. has a thread that differs structurally, depending on the purpose of a particular lamp.