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The first electrical light was invented by Sir Humphry Davy. He managed to pass a current through a platinum strip. This made the platinum strip glow.
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Sir Humphry Davy made the first carbon arc lamp by connecting 2 wires to a battery and placing a charcoal strip between the wires. The charcoal strip glowed but it used too much of the battery’s power too quickly.
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Warren de la Rue made a lightbulb that was able to operate at high temperatures. He placed a platinum filament in a tube and passed an electrical current through it. It glowed but the cost of platinum made it an impractical design.
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Frederick de Moleyns received the first patent for an incandescent lightbulb. An incandescent lightbulb is one that heats a metal filament and when it is hot enough it emits light.
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Joseph Wilson Swan replaced the platinum strips with carbonised paper filaments and enclosed it in a glass bulb. The lightbulb didn’t last long though due to the lack of an adequate supply of electricity. Then, by 1870, he managed to create a longer lasting lightbulb by using a treated Cotten thread that also stopped the bulb from blackening.
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Henry Woodward and Metthew Evans made more lamps using carbon rods held between electrodes in a glass bulb filled with nitrogen. They then patented their design.
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Thomas Edison bought Henry Woodward and Metthew Evans‘s patent and tested which metal filament worked best in the lightbulb. He ended up finding that the carbon filament worked the best. He then filed another patent for his lightbulb design.
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Joseph Swan filed a patent for his lightbulb.
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Thomas Edison found out that carbonised bamboo filaments could last 1200 hours.
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Thomas Edison started selling his new lightbulb.
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Thomas Edison took Joseph Swan to court because they were both making lightbulbs and they both had patents. Thomas Edison lost the case but he ended up joining his business with Joseph Swan.
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Willis Whitnew covered the carbon filament in the lightbulb with metal. This stopped the bulb from blackening.
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The General Electric Company (G.E.C) discovered that using a tungsten filament improved the lightbulb. They patented their design.
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William Coolidge, part of the G.E.C, improved the manufacturing of the tungsten filament. This made the cost more practical and the design took off. Tungsten filaments are still used in incandescent lightbulbs today.
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Irving Langmuir found that filling the lightbulb with an inert gas like nitrogen and twisting the tungsent filament made it last longer.
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Marvin Pipkin developed the first frosted incandescent lightbulb.
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Fliresent lights started to become popular.
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The halogen lightbulb was created. It consumed less energy and lasted longer.
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Colourful light emitting diodes were invented.
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The first compact fluorescent light (CFL) was created but not manufactured and sold.
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The CFL hit the market.
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Shuji Nakamura developed the first bright blue light emitting diode. After this development scientists started experimenting with colourful light emitting diodes and covering them with phosphors to make them appear white. Soon enough the first white LED light had been invented.
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LED lights hit the market.
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LED lights have improved and are continuously being improved and now last longer and are more efficient. The price of LED lights has also significantly dropped.