Victorian Light Bulb Invention

A brief history of the light bulb.

Victorian light bulb invention. After the invention of the light bulb by joseph wilson swan and thomas edison electric lighting and bulbs started to become the norm in homes and on the streets. Electric arc lighting invented in 1809 was much safer but far too bright for use in a small area. The electric light one of the everyday conveniences that most affects our lives was not invented in the traditional sense in 1879 by thomas alva edison although he could be said to have created the first commercially practical incandescent light. He is known as an independent early developer of a successful incandescent light bulb and is the person responsible for developing and supplying the first incandescent lights used to illuminate homes and public buildings including the savoy theatre london in 1881.

In 1904 a tungsten filament was invented by austro hungarians alexander just and franjo hanaman and was more efficient and longer lasting than the carbonized bamboo filament used. A light bulb is also known as an incandescent light bulb incandescent lamp or an incandescent light globe. To solve this problem edison invented the power station which sent electricity to homes and businesses through wires. On 27 january 1880 edison was granted a patent for his electric light bulb.

Many of the things we take for granted today such as photography telephones electric light bulbs and cars were invented during queen victoria s reign. A smaller light was needed and in 1880 thomas edison patented the first commercially viable incandescent light bulb. The story of the light bulb begins long before edison patented the first commercially successful bulb in 1879. Click here to go to our victorian invention timeline.

Unfortunately gas produced a flickering light that burned down theaters and homes worldwide. No longer did we have to use yellow gas lights and oil lamps or indeed candle light. The light bulb or edison filament lamp as it was known has one loop of carbon filament which glows when a current of electricity passes through it. Inventions for daily life electric lighting.

It used a lot of electricity. This lamp in the science museum collection was made one year after joseph swan s original 1878 1879 electric light bulb. The incandescent light bulb contains a base glass enclosure and a filament. Sir joseph wilson swan frs 31 october 1828 27 may 1914 was an english physicist chemist and inventor.

Carbon filament bulbs the first electric light bulbs became available commercially in 1879. The first photographs were taken in the 1830s. Light bulbs with a carbon filament were first demonstrated by joseph swan in february 1879 and by edison in october 1879. Edison s light bulb first went on sale in november 1880.