Bright ideas
Saturday December twenty first is the shortest day of the 12 months, so we thought it might be a very good time to learn the history of sunshine bulbs.
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We go right into a dark room, activate a lightweight switch and think nothing of it. But you're benefiting from considered one of the best inventions of all time. The light bulb led to recent breakthroughs in energy, from power plants and power transmission lines to household appliances and electric motors. Research into light bulbs began greater than 150 years ago and like most great inventions, the sunshine bulb can’t be attributed to a single inventor. It was a series of small improvements over the ideas of previous inventors that led to the sunshine bulbs we use in our homes today. Here is a timeline of key events and the evolution of our lighting. If you possibly can't read the graphic, see the text below.
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1803 – 1809: First arc lamp manufactured
1835: First constant electric light demonstrated
James Bowman Lindsay demonstrated constant electric light at a public meeting in Scotland. Some consider him to be the inventor of the sunshine bulb.
1850 – 1859: Lightning in a tube
In the nineteenth century, two Germans discovered that they may produce light by removing just about all the air from a protracted glass tube and passing an electrical current through it. They are called Geissler tubes and have change into the premise of many lighting technologies, including fluorescent lamps.
1877 – 1885: Competition for the sunshine bulb intensified
Inventors world wide—including William Sawyer and Albon Man within the United States and Joseph Swan in England—worked to develop an electrical light bulb.
1882: Development of the lighting system
Focusing on the whole lighting network, Thomas Edison demonstrated with the Holborn Viaduct in London that it was possible to distribute electricity from a centrally positioned generator and developed the primary industrial electricity supplier in Lower Manhattan.
1901: Forerunner of fluorescent lamps
Peter Cooper Hewitt produced a blue-green light by passing electric current through mercury vapor. Because of the colour, the lights had few suitable uses, but were considered one of the precursors to fluorescent lighting.
1904: Out with the carbon filament and in with tungsten
In 1904, incandescent lamps with tungsten filaments got here onto the European market. These lamps lasted longer, were brighter and more efficient than carbon filament lamps.
1908: Edison screws
Part of Edison's contribution to the sunshine bulb was the socket he developed, now called the Edison screw. It was probably the most commonly used light bulb socket until 1908 and is now used for just about all residential lighting applications.
1913: The efficiency of incandescent lamps doubled
Irving Langmuir discovered that filling a lightweight bulb with inert gas-like nitrogen as an alternative of sucking out the air doubled the bulb's efficiency.
1926 – 1934: Neon tubes
In the late Nineteen Twenties and early Nineteen Thirties, European researchers conducted experiments with neon tubes coated with phosphors. News of those experiments helped stimulate research into fluorescent lighting within the United States
1951: Fluorescent lamps overtake incandescent lamps
By 1951, more light within the United States was produced by linear fluorescent lamps than incandescent lamps – a change sparked by the necessity for efficient lighting during World War II.
1962: The first light-emitting diode (LED) is invented
While working for General Electric, Nick Holonyak Jr. invented the primary visible spectrum LED in the shape of red diodes. Next, vibrant yellow and green diodes were invented.
1973: Energy shouldn’t be low-cost
The 1973 oil crisis marked a turning point in U.S. energy consumption as energy was not low-cost. Researchers rose to the challenge and started developing fluorescent lamps for residential use.
1976: Fluorescent lamps tackle a spiral shape
In 1976, Edward Hammer of General Electric discovered methods to bend the fluorescent tube right into a spiral, creating the primary compact fluorescent lamp.
1978: LEDs appear in consumer products
As researchers improved red diodes and their manufacturing, corporations began incorporating them into consumer products akin to calculator displays and indicator lights.
1985: The first compact fluorescent lamp comes onto the market
The first compact fluorescent bulbs got here available on the market within the mid-Eighties and value $25 to $35 per bulb.
1994: First blue, then white LEDs
The invention of the blue diode within the Nineteen Nineties quickly led to the invention of white LEDs. Shortly thereafter, researchers demonstrated white light using red, green and blue LEDs. This results in the event of high definition flat screen televisions.
2000: The Department of Energy works to advance LEDs
In 2000, the Department of Energy partnered with the private sector to advance white LED technology by developing a high-efficiency LED package.
2002 – 2008: The first LED light bulb for personal households comes onto the market
Until 2008, there have been few LED alternative bulbs available on the market, and most were 25-40 watts.
2012: 49 million LED products installed
In 2012 alone, greater than 49 million LED products were installed within the United States, saving roughly $675 million in annual energy costs.
2013: CFLs for just $1.74
Nearly 30 years after CFLs were introduced to the market, their cost has fallen to only $1.74 per bulb. They also use about 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs and last about ten times longer.
2013: LED costs drop dramatically
Since 2008, the price of LED bulbs has fallen by greater than 85%, and recently several retailers have announced that they’ll sell LEDs for $10 or less.
Originally published:
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