Incandescent light bulb

==History==

==History==

[[File:Edison Carbon Bulb.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Original carbon-filament bulb from [[Thomas Edison]]'s shop in Menlo Park]]

Historians Robert Friedel and [[Paul Israel (historian)|Paul Israel]] list inventors of incandescent lamps prior to [[Joseph Swan]] and [[Thomas Edison]] of [[General Electric]].{{sfnp|Friedel |Israel |2010 |p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8U-Naf4DuzMC&pg=PA91 91–93]}} They conclude that [[Edison light bulb|Edison's version]] was the first practical implementation, able to outstrip the others because of a combination of four factors: an effective [[incandescent]] material; a [[vacuum]] higher than other implementations which was achieved through the use of a [[Sprengel pump]]; a high [[Electrical resistance|resistance]] that made power distribution from a centralized source economically viable, and the development of the associated components required for a large-scale lighting system. However, Joseph Swan's incandescent light bulb pre-dated Edison's and was sufficiently practical that it was actually installed and in daily use in London in 1881.

Historians Robert Friedel and [[Paul Israel (historian)|Paul Israel]] list inventors of incandescent lamps prior to [[Joseph Swan]] and [[Thomas Edison]] of [[General Electric]].{{sfnp|Friedel |Israel |2010 |p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8U-Naf4DuzMC&pg=PA91 91–93]}} They conclude that [[Edison light bulb|Edison's version]] was the first practical implementation, able to outstrip the others because of a combination of four factors: an effective [[incandescent]] material; a [[vacuum]] higher than other implementations which was achieved through the use of a [[Sprengel pump]]; a high [[Electrical resistance|resistance]] that made power distribution from a centralized source economically viable, and the development of the associated components required for a large-scale lighting system. However, Joseph Swan's incandescent light bulb pre-dated Edison's and was sufficiently practical that it was actually installed and in daily use in London in 1881.

===Early pre-commercial research===

===Early pre-commercial research===

[[File:Edison Carbon Bulb.jpg|thumb|upright|Original carbon-filament bulb from [[Thomas Edison]]'s shop in Menlo Park]]

In 1761, [[Ebenezer Kinnersley]] demonstrated heating a wire to [[incandescence]].{{cite book |last=Blake-Coleman |first=B. C. (Barrie Charles) |year=1992 |title=Copper Wire and Electrical Conductors – The Shaping of a Technology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xMvY_v4kMMQC&pg=PA127 |publisher=Harwood Academic Publishers |page=127 |isbn=3-7186-5200-5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206142310/https://books.google.com/books?id=xMvY_v4kMMQC&pg=PA127 |archive-date=6 December 2017}} However such wires tended to melt or oxidize very rapidly (burn) in the presence of air.{{sfnp|Friedel |Israel |2010 |p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8U-Naf4DuzMC&pg=PA6 6–7]}} [[Limelight]] became a popular form of [[stage lighting]] in the early 19th century, by heating a piece of [[calcium oxide]] to incandescence with an [[oxyhydrogen torch]].{{Cite web|url=https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2018/11/1825-public-demonstration-of-the-limelight|title=November 9, 1825: Public Demonstration of the Limelight|website=www.aps.org}}

In 1761, [[Ebenezer Kinnersley]] demonstrated heating a wire to [[incandescence]].{{cite book |last=Blake-Coleman |first=B. C. (Barrie Charles) |year=1992 |title=Copper Wire and Electrical Conductors – The Shaping of a Technology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xMvY_v4kMMQC&pg=PA127 |publisher=Harwood Academic Publishers |page=127 |isbn=3-7186-5200-5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206142310/https://books.google.com/books?id=xMvY_v4kMMQC&pg=PA127 |archive-date=6 December 2017}} However such wires tended to melt or oxidize very rapidly (burn) in the presence of air.{{sfnp|Friedel |Israel |2010 |p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8U-Naf4DuzMC&pg=PA6 6–7]}} [[Limelight]] became a popular form of [[stage lighting]] in the early 19th century, by heating a piece of [[calcium oxide]] to incandescence with an [[oxyhydrogen torch]].{{Cite web|url=https://www.aps.org/apsnews/2018/11/1825-public-demonstration-of-the-limelight|title=November 9, 1825: Public Demonstration of the Limelight|website=www.aps.org}}