In what year was the incandescent light bulb invented? Who, where and when invented the light bulb?

The light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison in 1879, right? Many people know about this and teach it this way in school. However, behind this important and such necessary item is worth more than just the name of its creator, Mr. Edison. Story light bulb in fact it began almost 70 years earlier. In 1806, Humphry Davy, an Englishman, demonstrated a powerful electric lamp to the Royal Society. The Davy lamp produced illumination by creating blinding electric sparks between two carbon rods. This device, known as an "arc lamp", was impractical for widespread use. The light, as if from a welding torch, was too bright for use in living and working areas. The device also required a huge power source and battery, which Davy's model quickly used up.

As time went on, they were invented electric generators, which could power electric arcs. This found its application where a bright light source was simply necessary: ​​in lighthouses and in public institutions. Later, arc lamps were used in war, because powerful searchlights could track enemy aircraft. Today you can see similar lighting near cinemas or at the opening of new stores.

Incandescent lamp.

19th century inventors wanted to find a way to use a lamp both at home and at work. It was absolutely necessary new method creating electric light. This method of generating light is known as "incandescence".

Scientists knew that if you take some materials and run enough electricity through them, they will heat up. At a certain heating temperature they begin to glow. The problem with this method was that when long-term use the material could burst into flames or melt. If the incandescent lamp were made more practical, these two problems would be solved.

The inventors realized that the only way to keep them from burning was to prevent them from coming into contact with oxygen. Oxygen is a necessary ingredient in the combustion process. Since oxygen is present in the atmosphere, the only way to avoid a fire was to enclose the burner in a glass container, or "lamp". That is, limit contact with air. In 1841, British inventor Frederick de Molains patented a lamp using this technique in combination with platinum filament and carbon. The American John Starr also received a patent in 1845 for a lamp using a vacuum combined with a carbon burner. Many others, including the English chemist Joseph Swan, improved and patented versions of vacuum lamps with burners made of different materials and various forms. However, none of them had practical application for everyday use. Swan's lamp, for example, used carbon paper, which quickly crumbled after burning.

Edison joins!

It was obvious that incandescent lamps would bring huge financial success if they were improved. Therefore, many inventors continued to work to find a solution. Young and brash inventor Thomas Edison entered the race in 1878 to create the best lamp. Edison was already known in the world for the creation of the telephone transmitter and the phonograph. In October of that year, having been working on the project for several months, he declared in the newspapers: "I solved the problem of electric light!" This swift statement was enough to send shares lower gas companies, whose lamps provided the lighting of that time.

As it turned out, Edison's statement was premature. He only had an idea how to solve the problems of incandescent electric lamps. Edison thought he would solve the problem by building a temperature-sensitive switch in the lamp that would turn off when the temperature was too high. It was good idea, but unfortunately it didn't work. To keep the lamp cool enough, the switches actuated too quickly. This led to a constant flicker, which made the lamps unusable (the same principle is now used in Christmas garlands).

It soon became clear to everyone who worked in Edison's laboratory that a different approach was needed. Edison decides to hire young physicist Francis Upton from Princeton University to work on the project. Up to this point, Edison's laboratory staff had tried idea after idea. Under Upton's leadership, they also began to pay attention to existing patents and advances to avoid similar mistakes. The team also began conducting basic research about the properties of the materials they were working with.

One of the results of testing the properties of materials was the realization that any thread has a high electrical resistance. All materials have some amount of “friction” when electricity passes through it. Materials with high resistance heat up more easily. Edison only had to test high-resistivity materials to find what he was looking for.

The inventor began to think not only about electric light individually, but also about the entire electrical system. How big does a generator need to be to illuminate a nearby area? What voltage is needed to light a house?

By October 1879, Edison's team began to see the first results. On the 22nd, a thin carbon filament burned for 13 hours of the experiment. More for a long time was achieved by creating a better vacuum inside the lamp (less oxygen inside the lamp slowed down the combustion process). Carbon-based organic materials were tested and Japanese bamboo was found to be the best. By the end of 1880, charred bamboo fibers had burned for almost 600 hours. The threads turned out to be best form to increase the electrical resistance of materials.

Charred bamboo had high resistance and fit well into the design of an entire electrical system. In 1882, the Edison Electrical Light Company was founded and had its stations located on Pearl Street, providing light to New York City. In 1883, Macy's store was the first to install new incandescent light bulbs.

Edison vs. Swan.

Meanwhile in England, Joseph Swan continued to work on light bulbs after seeing that the new pumps made a better vacuum. Swan created a lamp that was good for display but impractical in actual use. Swan used a thick carbon rod that left soot inside the lamp. Also, the low resistance of the rod meant that the lamp was using too much power. Seeing the success of Edison lamps, Swan used these advances to create his own lamps. After founding his company in England, Swan was sued by Edison for copyright infringement. Eventually, the two inventors decided to stop arguing and join forces. They founded Edison-Swan United, which became one of the world's largest light bulb manufacturers.

So Edison invented the electric lamp? Not really. The incandescent lamp was invented before him. However, he created the first practical lamp along with an electrical system, which is his great achievement.

Edison's name is also associated with the invention of the telephone transmitter, the phonograph, and the mimeograph. And his incandescent lamp is used to this day. This is a testament to how great the work of Edison and his team is. After all, they transferred this invention from the laboratory to the house.

The answer to this seemingly elementary and simple question is still ambiguous. It is believed that the light bulb was invented in the not so distant 1879 by the American Thomas Edison. Well, or at least that's how our students are taught.

But it is worth understanding the issue and finding out: is it so? Indeed, in fact, the history of the well-known light bulb is series circuit inventions and discoveries that were made in different time by different people.

• It is known for certain that the “progenitor” of the modern lamp appeared a long time ago. Since ancient times, attempts have been made to create devices capable of illuminating the darkness at night. And some attempts were quite successful and impressive. According to historical data:
• Not far from the Appian Way, in one of the Roman tombs, it was possible to discover glowing lamp. It turns out that she worked, on average, 1,600 years.
• At the same time, a unique Pollanta lantern was discovered in another tomb in Rome. It shone for an average of 2,000 years.
• The “progenitor” of the light bulb was known to the Egyptians and the inhabitants of the Mediterranean. They were the first to use for lighting homes olive oil. It was poured into special earthenware vessels with inserted cotton wicks. The image of an object, very reminiscent in its structure of an incandescent lamp, was found in the temple of Hathor built by the ancient Egyptians.
• But the inhabitants of the coast of the Caspian Sea poured into clay vessels not olive oil, but oil.
• Data on the existence of intense and durable lamps are found in well-known authors of various eras. In particular, Aurelius Augustine, Plutarch, Lucian, Pausanias and many others wrote about them. ABOUT " eternal lamp“Cyrano de Bergerac also wrote in his works.

In the Middle Ages, clay vessels replaced the first candles, which included natural beeswax and lard. Further, for centuries, many of the greatest scientists, geniuses and inventors of our Earth have been working on the invention of a lighting device that is safe for humans.

Nevertheless, the first safe design suitable for mass production appeared approximately in the mid-19th century.

At this time, a wave of various discoveries closely related to electricity swept across the world. You could say that I went kind of chain reaction: one relatively small discovery paved the way for even larger plans and grandiose ideas.

“Authors” of light bulbs from different countries

Vasily Petrov (Russia)

In 1803, he produced an electric arc using a capacitive battery. Having constructed this huge and very powerful battery, he was the first in the world to declare that an electric voltaic arc can illuminate objects and rooms at night. It was difficult for the discoverer to conduct experiments, since the charcoal used as an electrode burned out in a matter of minutes.

British inventor Delarue

Work on creating and improving the light bulb continued. In 1809, a Briton designed the world's first model of a lamp with an incandescent filament, which was made of platinum. But the platinum spiral was too fragile and at the same time too expensive. Therefore, it did not receive recognition and active dissemination.

Belgian scientist Jobard

Considering the shortcomings of previous light bulb designs, he set out to optimize and in 1938 introduced the carbon incandescent lamp to the world. But his lamp also had a flaw: it contained oxygen, so the carbon rod burned out quite quickly.

Jean Bernard Foucault (France)

Taking over the “baton”, a scientist from France in 1844 replaced electrodes made of charcoal on retort carbon electrodes. He also equipped the lamp with manual control of the arc length, while the source of electricity was a fairly powerful battery for that time.

Heinrich Goebel (Germany)

The light bulb continued to change. The “author” of the first modern lamp was a scientist from Germany, who in 1855 placed a charred bamboo thread in a vacuum container. The lamp was still far from perfect, but it had become more practical.

Alexander Lodygin (Russia)

In 1874, he patented a unique filament lamp. The scientist placed a stick of coal in a evacuated flask. Tungsten served as the material for filaments. Thanks to this, it was possible to significantly extend the life of these lamps.

Vasily Didrikhson (Russia)

Having improved the design of his compatriot, in 1875 he pumped out the air from the lamp. In addition, this time the scientist used several hairs so that if one of them burns out, the next hair starts working automatically.

Pavel Yablochkov (Russia)

Through his efforts, long and fruitful experiments grew into mass electric lighting. In 1875, he came up with the idea of ​​​​creating a simple and at the same time very reliable arc lamp. In 1876 and 1877, he received several patents: for the design of the arc lamp itself, as well as for their power supply systems.

Production was soon set to industrial basis, but gradually the Yablochkov Candle was replaced by a more durable, modern and economical incandescent lamp.

Joseph Wilson Swan (England)

Against the background of these discoveries, in 1878 an Englishman patented a slightly different lamp. In his invention, he placed carbon fiber in a rather rarefied oxygen atmosphere. Thanks to this, the light from the lamp became noticeably brighter.

Thomas Edison (USA)

He refined and optimized technologies that already existed at that time. In 1880, he patented a charcoal lamp that could shine for about 40 hours. He also managed to significantly reduce the cost of the lamp. Soon his lamps replaced gas lighting.

Thus, several hardworking scientists-inventors from Germany, Russia, Belgium, the USA, France, England and other countries made a significant contribution to the development of the technology. That is why some attribute authorship directly to Thomas Edison, while others are firmly convinced that Alexander Lodygin is right.

Undoubtedly, the lamp was invented long before the American patented it. However, his enormous and undeniable merit is that, combining all the best, he opened the practical lamp to the world along with the electrical system. It is for this achievement that he is usually credited with being the first author of the light bulb.

And finally interesting video, where the girl "investigates" the invention of lamps.

There is a lot of talk and unfounded disputes around this issue. Who invented the incandescent lamp? Some claim that this is Lodygin, others that Edison. But everything is much more complicated, let's look at the chronology of historical events.

There are many transformation methods electrical energy into the light. These include lamps of the arc principle of operation, gas-discharge and those where the source of luminescence is a heating filament. In fact, an incandescent light bulb can also be considered an artificial light source, since its operation uses the effect of a heated conductor through which current passes. The heated element is most often a metal spiral or a carbon filament. In addition to the conductor, the design of the light bulb includes a bulb, a current lead, a fuse and a base. However, we already know all this. But not so long ago there was a time when several scientists carried out simultaneous developments in the field of artificial light sources and competed for the title of inventor of the light bulb.

If you want to really understand, we strongly recommend reading the entire article.

The first conversions of energy into light

In the 18th century, a significant discovery occurred, which marked the beginning of a huge series of inventions. Was discovered electricity. At the turn of the next century, the Italian scientist Luigi Galvani was a method was invented receiving electric current from chemical substances– volt column or galvanic cell. Already in 1802, physicist Vasily Petrov discovered the electric arc and proposed using it as a lighting device. Four years later, the Royal Society saw Humphry Davy's electric lamp; it illuminated the room due to the sparks between the coal rods. The first arc lamps were too bright and expensive, making them unsuitable for everyday use.

Incandescent lamp: prototypes

First developments lighting lamps with incandescent elements began in the mid-19th century. So, in 1838 Belgian inventor Jobar presented a project for an incandescent lamp with a carbon core. Although the operating time of this device did not exceed half an hour, it was evidence of technological progress in this area. IN 1840 th year, Warren de la Rue, an English astronomer, produced a light bulb with a platinum spiral, the first lamp in the history of electrical engineering with an incandescent element in the form of a spiral. The inventor passed an electric current through a vacuum tube with a coil of platinum wire placed in it. As a result of heating, platinum emitted a bright glow, and the almost complete absence of air made it possible to use the device in any temperature conditions. Due to the high cost of platinum, it was illogical to use such a lamp for commercial purposes, even taking into account its efficiency. However, later it was the sample of this light bulb that began to be considered the ancestor of other incandescent lamps. Warren de la Rue several decades later (in 1860 -x) began to actively study the phenomenon of gas-discharge glow under the influence of current.

IN 1841 Frederick de Moleyn, an Englishman, patented lamps, which were flasks with a platinum filament filled with carbon. However, the tests carried out by him in 1844 with respect to conductors were not crowned with success. This was due to the rapid melting of the platinum filament. In 1845, another scientist, King, replaced platinum incandescent elements with carbon sticks and received a patent for his invention. In the same years overseas, in the USA, John Starr patented a light bulb with a vacuum sphere and a carbon burner.

IN 1854 th year, the German watchmaker Heinrich Goebel came up with a device that is considered a prototype modern lamps points He demonstrated it at an electrical exhibition in the USA. It was a vacuum incandescent lamp, which was really suitable for use in the most different conditions. Heinrich suggested using a bamboo thread that had been charred as a light source. Instead of the flask, the scientist took simple bottles of eau de toilette. The vacuum in them was created by adding and pouring mercury from the flask. The disadvantage of the invention was excessive fragility and operating time of only a few hours. During the years of active research life, Goebel could not meet the due recognition in society, but at the age of 75 he was called the inventor of the first practical incandescent lamp based on carbon filament. By the way, it was Goebel who first used lighting fixtures for advertising purposes: he drove around New York on a cart decorated with light bulbs. A spyglass was installed on a wheelchair attracting attention from afar, through which the scientist allowed, for a fee, to look at the starry sky.

First results

The most effective results in the field of obtaining a vacuum light bulb were achieved by the famous chemist and physicist from England - Joseph Swan (Swan). IN 1860 In the year he received a patent for his invention, although the lamp did not work for very long. This was due to the use of carbon paper - it quickly turned into crumbs after burning.

In the mid-70s. In the 19th century, in parallel with Swan, a Russian scientist also patented several inventions. The outstanding scientist and engineer Alexander Lodygin invented in 1874 year, a filament lamp in which a carbon rod was used for heating. He began experiments in studying lighting devices in 1872, while in St. Petersburg. As a result, thanks to the banker Kozlov, a company for the operation of coal light bulbs was founded. For his invention, the scientist received a prize from the Academy of Sciences. These lamps immediately began to be used for street lighting and Admiralty buildings.

Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin

Lodygin was also the first to come up with the idea of ​​using tungsten or molybdenum threads twisted into a spiral. TO 1890 -m. Lodygin had several types of lamps with incandescent filaments made of different metals. He suggested pumping out the air from the light bulb so that the oxidation process would proceed more slowly, which means the lamp's service life would be longer. The first commercial lamp with a spiral tungsten filament in America was subsequently produced precisely according to Lodygin’s patent. He even invented gas light bulbs filled with carbon filament and nitrogen.

Lodygin's idea 1875 year was improved by another Russian mechanic-inventor Vasily Didrikhson. He made coals by charring wood cylinders in graphite crucibles. It was he who was the first to manage to pump out air and install more than one filament in a light bulb so that when it burns out, it can be replaced. Such a lamp was produced under the leadership of Kohn, and it was used to illuminate a large lingerie store and underwater caissons during the construction of a bridge in St. Petersburg. In 1876, the lamp was improved by Nikolai Pavlovich Bulygin. The scientist heated only one end of the coal, which constantly moved out during the burning process. However, the device was complex and expensive.

IN 1875-76 gg. electrical engineer Pavel Yablochkov, while creating an electric candle, discovered that kaolin (a type of white clay) conducts electricity well when exposed to high temperatures. He invented a kaolin light bulb with a filament made of the appropriate material. Distinctive feature This lamp is due to the fact that for its operation it was not necessary to place a kaolin filament in a vacuum flask - it remained operational when in contact with air. The creation of the light bulb was preceded by the scientist’s long work on arc light bulbs in Paris. One day Yablochkov visited a local cafe and, watching the waiter arranging cutlery, came to a new idea. He decided to place the carbon electrodes parallel to each other, and not horizontally. There was, however, a danger that not only the arc would burn out, but also the conductive clamps. The dilemma was solved by adding an insulator, which gradually burned out after the electrodes. White clay became this insulator. To make the light bulb light, a carbon jumper was placed between the electrodes, and uneven combustion of the electrodes themselves was minimized by using an alternating current generator.

Yablochkov demonstrated his invention at a technology exhibition in London in 1876 year. A year later, one of the French, Deneyrouz, established a joint-stock company to study Yablochkov’s lighting technologies. The scientist himself had little faith in the future of incandescent lamps, but Yablochkov’s electric candles were extremely popular. Success was ensured not only by the low price, but also by the burning duration of 1.5 hours. Thanks to this invention, lanterns replaced candles, and the streets began to be illuminated much better. True, the disadvantage of such candles was the presence of only a variable flow of light. A little later, a physicist from Germany, Walter Nernst, developed a light bulb of the same principle, but made the filament from magnesia. The lamp was lit only after heating the filament, for which they first used matches and then electric heaters.

Fight for patents

By the end of the 1870s. my research activities began by the outstanding engineer and inventor Thomas Edison, who lived in the USA. In the process of creating the lamp, he tried different metals for filaments. Initially, the scientist believed that the solution to the problem of light bulbs could be by automatically turning them off when high temperatures. But this idea did not work, since constantly turning off the cold lamp only resulted in intermittent flickering radiation. There is a version that in the late 70s. Lieutenant of the Russian Navy Khotinsky brought several incandescent light bulbs from Lodygin and showed them to Edison, which influenced his further developments.

Not stopping at his achievements in England, Joseph Swan, already well-known in scientific circles at that time, patented a carbon fiber lamp in 1878. It was placed in a rarefied atmosphere with oxygen, so the light came out very bright. Within a year, electric lighting appeared in most homes in England.

Thomas Alva Edison

Meanwhile, Thomas Edison hired Francis Upton to work in his laboratory. Together with him, materials began to be tested more accurately, and attention was focused on the shortcomings of previous patents. In 1879, Edison patented a light bulb with a platinum base, and a year later the scientist created a lamp with carbon fiber and uninterrupted operation for 40 hours. During his work, the American conducted 1.5 thousand tests and was also able to create a rotary switch household type. In principle, Thomas Edison did not make any new changes to Lodygin's electric light bulb. It was just that a large proportion of the air was pumped out of his glass sphere with a carbon thread. More importantly, an American scientist developed a supersystem for a light bulb, invented a screw base, cartridge and fuses, and subsequently organized mass production.

New light sources were able to displace gas ones, and the invention itself was called the Edison-Swan lamp for some time. In 1880, Thomas established the most accurate vacuum value, which created the most stable airless space. The air was pumped out of the light bulb using a mercury pump.

By the end of 1880, bamboo fibers in light bulbs could burn for about 600 hours. This material from Japan was recognized as the best organic type carbon component. Since bamboo threads were quite expensive, Edison proposed to make them from cotton fibers processed special ways. The first companies to build large electrical systems were created in New York in 1882. During this period, Edison even sued Swan for copyright infringement. But in the end, the scientists created the joint company Edison-Swan United, which quickly grew into a world leader in the production of light bulbs.

During his life, Thomas Edison was able to obtain 1093 patents. Among his famous inventions: the phonograph, the kinetoscope, and the telephone transmitter. He was once asked if it was a shame to make mistakes 2 thousand times before creating a light bulb. The scientist replied: “I was not mistaken, but I discovered 1,999 ways not to make a light bulb.”

Metal filaments

At the end of the 1890s. New light bulbs began to appear. So, Walter Nernst proposed to make incandescent filaments from a special alloy, which included oxides of magnesium, yttrium, thorium and zirconium. In the Auer lamp (Karl Auer von Welsbach, Republic of Austria), an osmium filament acted as a light emitter, and in a Bolton and Feuerlein lamp, a tantalum filament. Alexander Lodygin in 1890 patented an incandescent lamp, where a fast-heating tungsten filament was used (several refractory metals were used, but it was tungsten that, according to research results, had best performance). It is noteworthy that 16 years later he sold all rights to his revolutionary invention to the industrial giant General Electric, a company founded by the great Thomas Edison.

However, in the history of electrical engineering there are two known patents for tungsten lamp- in 1904, a duet of scientists Sandor Yust and Franjo Hanaman registered an invention similar to Lodygin's. A year later, Austria-Hungary began mass production of these lamps. Later, General Electric began producing light bulbs with inert gases. A scientist from this organization, Irving Langmuir, in 1909 managed to modernize Lodygin's invention by adding argon to it in order to extend the duration and increase light output.

In 1910, William Coolidge improved the processes industrial production tungsten filaments, after which the production of lamps began not only with an incandescent element in the form of a spiral, but also in the form of a zigzag, double and triple helix.

Further inventions

• Since the creation of the first electrical lighting fixtures, studies of the properties of gas discharge lamps, however, until the beginning of the 20th century, scientists showed little interest in them. An example is the fact that the first primitive prototypes of mercury lamps were constructed in Great Britain as early as the 1860s, but it was not until 1901 that Peter Hewitt invented mercury lamp low pressure. Five years later, analogues went into production high pressure. And in 1911, Georges Claudy, a chemical engineer from France, showed the world a neon light bulb, which immediately became the center of attention of all advertisers.
• In the 1920s-40s. were invented sodium lamps, fluorescent and xenon. Some of them began to be mass produced even for everyday use. To date, about 2 thousand varieties of light sources are known.
• In the USSR, the colloquial name for an incandescent lamp became the phrase “Ilyich’s light bulb.” It was this idiom that became native to peasants and collective farmers during the time of universal electrification. In 1920, Vladimir Lenin visited one of the villages to launch a power plant, and it was then that popular expression. However, initially this expression was used to refer to a plan for electrification Agriculture, towns and villages. Ilyich's light bulb was a socket, freely suspended by a wire from the ceiling and hanging down without a shade. The design of the cartridge also included a switch, and the wiring was laid open method along the walls.
• LED lamps were developed in the 60s. for industrial purposes. They had little power and could not illuminate the area properly. However, today this direction is considered the most promising.
• In 1983, compact fluorescent light bulbs appeared. Their invention was especially important in the context of the need to save energy. In addition, they do not require additional starting equipment and fit standard incandescent lamp sockets.
• Not long ago, two American companies created fluorescent lamps for consumers with the ability to purify the air and remove unpleasant odors. Their surface is coated with titanium dioxide, which, when irradiated, triggers a photocatalytic reaction.

Video of how incandescent lamps are made in old factories.

An incandescent light bulb is an object familiar to everyone. Electricity and artificial light have long become an integral part of reality for us. But few people think about how that very first and familiar incandescent lamp appeared.

Our article will tell you what an incandescent lamp is, how it works and how it appeared in Russia and around the world.

What is

An incandescent lamp is an electrical version of a light source, the main part of which is a refractory conductor that plays the role of a filament body. The conductor is placed in a glass flask, which inside can be pumped with an inert gas or completely devoid of air. By passing electric current through a refractory type of conductor, this lamp can emit a luminous flux.

Incandescent lamp glow

The principle of operation is based on the fact that when electric current flows through the filament body, this element begins to glow, heating the tungsten filament. As a result, the filament begins to emit radiation of the electromagnetic-thermal type (Planck's law). To create a glow, the filament temperature must be a couple of thousand degrees. As the temperature decreases, the luminescence spectrum will become increasingly red.
All the disadvantages of an incandescent lamp lie in the incandescent temperature. The better the luminous flux is needed, the higher the temperature required. In this case, the tungsten filament is characterized by a filament limit, above which this light source permanently fails.
Note! The temperature limit of heating for incandescent lamps is 3410 ° C.

Design features

Since the incandescent lamp is considered the very first light source, it is quite natural that its design should be quite simple. Especially when compared with current light sources, which are gradually pushing it out of the market.
In an incandescent lamp, the leading elements are:

• lamp bulb;
• filament body;
• current leads.

Note! The first such lamp had exactly this structure.

Incandescent lamp design

To date, several variants of incandescent lamps have been developed, but this structure is typical for the simplest and very first models.
In a standard incandescent light bulb, in addition to the elements described above, there is a fuse, which is a link. It consists of a ferronickel alloy. It is welded into the gap of one of the two current leads of the product. The link is located in the current lead leg. It is needed in order to prevent the destruction of the glass bulb during a filament breakout. This is due to the fact that when the tungsten filament breaks through, an electric arc is created. It can melt the remaining thread. And its fragments can damage the glass flask and lead to a fire.
The fuse breaks the electric arc. Such a ferronickel link is placed in a cavity where the pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure. In this situation, the arc goes out.
Such a structure and principle of operation provided the incandescent lamp with wide distribution around the world, but due to their high energy consumption and short service life, they are now used much less frequently. This is due to the fact that more modern and efficient light sources have appeared.

History of discovery

Researchers both from Russia and from other countries of the world contributed to the creation of the incandescent lamp in the form in which it is known today.

Alexander Lodygin

Until the moment when the inventor Alexander Lodygin from Russia began to work on the development of incandescent lamps, some important events should be noted in its history:

• in 1809, the famous inventor Delarue from England created his first incandescent lamp equipped with a platinum filament;
• almost 30 years later, in 1938, the Belgian inventor Jobar developed a carbon model of an incandescent lamp;
• Inventor Heinrich Goebel from Germany in 1854 already presented the first version of a working light source.

The German-style light bulb had a charred bamboo filament that was placed in an evacuated vessel. Over the next five years, Heinrich Goebel continued his developments and eventually came to the first prototype of a working incandescent light bulb.

The first practical light bulb

Joseph Wilson Swan, the famous physicist and chemist from England, in 1860 showed the world his first successes in the development of a light source and was rewarded with a patent for his results. But some of the difficulties that arose with the creation of a vacuum showed the inefficient and not long-term operation of the Swan lamp.
In Russia, as noted above, Alexander Lodygin was engaged in research in the field of efficient light sources. In Russia, he was able to achieve a glow in a glass vessel of a carbon rod, from which the air had previously been pumped out. In Russia, the history of the discovery of the incandescent light bulb began in 1872. It was in this year that Alexander Lodygin succeeded in his experiments with a carbon rod. Two years later, in Russia, he receives a patent under the number 1619, which was issued to him for a filament type of lamp. He replaced the thread with a carbon rod located in a vacuum flask.
Exactly one year later, V. F. Didrikhson significantly improved the appearance of the incandescent lamp created in Russia by Lodygin. The improvement consisted of replacing the carbon rod with several hairs.

Note! In a situation where one of them burned out, the other automatically turned on.

Joseph Wilson Swan, who continued his attempts to improve the existing light source model, received a patent for light bulbs. Here as heating element carbon fibre. But here it was located already in a rarefied atmosphere of oxygen. Such an atmosphere made it possible to obtain very bright light.

Thomas Edison's contributions

In the 70s of the last century, an inventor from America, Thomas Edison, joined the inventive race to create a working model of an incandescent lamp.

Thomas Edison

He conducted research on the use of filaments made from a variety of materials in the form of an incandescent element. Edison in 1879 receives a patent for a light bulb equipped with a platinum filament. But after a year, he returns to the already proven carbon fiber and creates a light source with a service life of 40 hours.

Note! Simultaneously with his work on creating an efficient light source, Thomas Edison created a rotary type of household switch.

Despite the fact that Edison's light bulbs only work for 40 hours, they have begun to actively displace old version gas lighting.

The results of the work of Alexander Lodygin

While Thomas Edison was conducting his experiments on the other side of the world, Alexander Lodygin continued to engage in similar research in Russia. In the 90s of the 19th century, he invented several types of light bulbs, the filaments of which were made of refractory metals.

Note! It was Lodygin who first decided to use a tungsten filament as an incandescent body.

Lodygin's light bulb

In addition to tungsten, he also proposed using filaments made from molybdenum, and also twisting them into a spiral shape. Lodygin placed such threads of his in flasks, from which all the air was pumped out. As a result of such actions, the threads were protected from oxygen oxidation, which made the service life of the products significantly longer.
The first type of commercial light bulb produced in America contained a tungsten filament and was manufactured according to Lodygin's patent.
It is also worth noting that Lodygin developed gas-filled lamps containing carbon filaments and filled with nitrogen.
Thus, the authorship of the first incandescent light bulb sent into mass production belongs to the Russian researcher Alexander Lodygin.

Features of the Lodygin light bulb

Modern incandescent lamps, which are direct descendants of Alexander Lodygin’s model, are characterized by:

• excellent luminous flux;
• excellent color rendition;

Incandescent lamp color rendering

• low rate of convection and heat conduction;
• filament temperature - 3400 K;
• at the maximum level of the glow temperature indicator, the coefficient for useful action is 15%.

In addition, this type of light source consumes a lot of electricity during its operation compared to others. modern light bulbs. Because of design features such lamps can operate for approximately 1000 hours.
But, despite the fact that according to many evaluation criteria this product inferior to more advanced ones modern sources light, it, thanks to its cheapness, still remains relevant.

Conclusion

Inventors from different countries. But only the Russian scientist Alexander Lodygin was able to create the most best option, which we, in fact, continue to use to this day.

Resize

What were the first light sources?

The question: “who invented the first light bulb?” - many people ask, but few know the correct answer to it. Many people attribute this invention to the scientists of their country, but in reality, few people know the true creator of this device.

Even in ancient times, there were attempts to illuminate rooms different ways. The Egyptians used olive oil for lighting in their homes.

The oil was poured into clay vessels that had wicks made of special cotton threads.

Such a simple device made their room brighter.

For lighting they used oil lamps.

The latter was poured into lamps and set on fire.

If we leave the question of who invented the light bulb in the background, then the second question arises: when did the first candle appear?

Already in the Middle Ages, candles were made from the well-known beeswax.

But the matter did not stop with candles, and scientists tried to come up with a more universal means of lighting. Even Leonardo da Vinci worked to invent the kerosene lamp.

About the first lighting fixture one can speak with maximum security only from the beginning of the 19th century. But the light bulb in the form we are used to seeing today was invented only three decades later.

Who invented the first electric candle?

One of the answers to the question of who invented the light bulb will be Pavel Nikolaevich Yablochkov, Russian inventor, electrical engineer. Why one of the answers? And all because Yablochkov did not invent the first electric light bulb, as such, but only its prototype. The invention of the first electric candle belongs to the merits of this inventor. The burning time of the candle was only an hour and a half.

After candles, the invention of lanterns with automatic replacement of candles in right time. Although Yablochkov’s invention deserves respect, it was not very inconvenient to use. The candles could only last for a short period of time, and then they needed to be replaced. Although, this did not prevent their active use in theater lighting, shopping centers and so on.

Who invented the light bulb?

Beginning in 1840, for 30 years, many scientists searched for perfect option for lighting, but they did not succeed. Today everyone already knows who invented the world's first electric light bulb. This title belongs to the Russian scientist, engineer and inventor Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin.

The modern light bulb, powered by electricity, was invented by him. All previous attempts by other inventors failed to pass the necessary tests. The same cannot be said about Lodygin’s invention. His light bulb burned quietly for half an hour. Later, other scientists came up with the idea of ​​pumping air out of it, which significantly increased the operating time of the light bulb.

When did the first carbon filament light bulb appear?

While Lodygin was actively developing his light bulb, his work was carefully monitored by the American scientist Thomas Edison.

Just 9 years later, namely in 1879, he began using carbon filament for light bulbs, which was made from beech hair. high density. Thousands of types of bamboo were needed for its invention. It is known that Edison conducted about 6 thousand tests and only after that he managed to achieve the desired result. His light bulb could burn for a very long time.

The picture above shows:

1. Carbon filament lamp housing
2. Carbon filament supply tube
3. Solenoid
4. Choke coils

In parallel with Edison, the English scientist Joseph Swan was engaged in the invention of the lamp. His invention was in the form of a flask made of glass, inside this flask there was the same carbon thread. A few years later, scientists combined their efforts and soon opened their own company for the production of electric light bulbs.

As you can see, it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question of who invented the first light bulb. Many scientists have spent years of their lives inventing the much-needed modern life device