We are all used to and do not notice such an ordinary and everyday thing as an electric light bulb. The maximum that an average person thinks about this topic is: “should I replace an incandescent lamp with a more interesting design or switch to energy-saving technology?”. Meanwhile, for its age it was a truly revolutionary thing! There are disputes about who was the first to contribute to the invention of the first light bulb. Our compatriots are sure that this Russian engineer Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin, but scientists from different countries worked on this problem: Swan from England, Goebel from Germany, Delarue from France, they all worked a lot in this field of scientific discoveries. Who invented the first light bulb?
ancient prototypes
How did ancient people paint caves with rock paintings when there was no natural light? Torches and bonfires? But smoke and soot come from them, and you can’t draw much like that, it’s already dark three meters from the fire ... Historians reflect on this topic and cannot come to a consensus. The only mention of lighting - on the Egyptian pyramids are depicted people in whose hands lamps very similar to electric.
First experiments with an arc lamp
The history of the invention of the electric lamp
Each student in the physics lesson went through the topic of the history of the invention of electricity. It is generally accepted that the invention of the design of a working electric lamp belongs to Thomas Edison, who published his discovery in 1879. However, this invention is much more hard work than we think.
The advent of modern electric lamps was preceded by a large number of preparatory studies in different countries of the world by inventor-scientists. The achievements of the previous generations were improved, experiments were carried out with different types of medium in which the incandescent filament was placed, the light bulb was changed and improved. The history of the invention has many stages.
The task before the scientists was simple and difficult at the same time - to get a design that could be used in everyday life. One of the promising directions was study of the effect of incandescence of various materials.
If an electric current is passed through some metals, they will glow and give a source of light. The question was only one - how to prevent overheating, melting of the material or its combustion. Many experiments have been carried out in this direction. Scientists understood that achieving a balance between the incandescent element and the environment in which it heats up would mean a giant breakthrough.
What is combustion? First of all, it is direct contact with oxygen. Since it is found in the environment, the only way to avoid burning the filament element is to limit the contact of the heating element with air. Consequently , you need a container, a lamp.
Contribution of Russian researchers
Edison era
I must say that in addition to a brilliant mindset, Thomas Edison had obvious business talent. He was the first to realize what enormous financial benefits the mass production of incandescent lamps promises. Edison began work on improving the design of the lamp in 1878 and immediately declared that he had solved the problem of the electric lamp. At that time, Edison was the inventor of the telephone and the phonograph, so he was immediately believed. Edison's statement was reflected in the stock exchange. Shares of gas companies rapidly crept down in price.
However Edison got a little excited. The problem was not immediately resolved. The inventor had the idea to create a switch for the normal operation of the lamp, so that there was no excessive overheating of the filament element. But they did not fire at the right time, which was unpleasant to the eye and led to flicker. The design was not applicable in mass production. The laboratory led by Edison conducted numerous experiments with experiments from different materials of the filament and different environments where it was placed.
The breakthrough was helped by a young fellow physicist from the Princeton Institute surnamed Upton. Physicists began to study the already obtained patents and discoveries in this area. And they came across the idea of the resistance properties of metals in relation to incandescent technology. It turned out that metals with the highest coefficient of resistance heat up more easily and do not burn. By the beginning of 1880, the first results began to appear. The design that worked best was a combination of a vacuum tube and filament-shaped bamboo charcoal rods. Thus, the first efficient electric lamp appeared.
In addition to the problem of improving the incandescent lamp, Edison also dealt with the problem of lamp power. His laboratory owns the invention of the base, the switch for the lamp. After 2 years, Edison's commercial talent was revealed to its full width. The Edison Electrical Light Company was founded, with a network of stations and branch stores throughout New York, and the lamps were heavily advertised and sold. These were the first analogues of modern light bulbs.
Edison had a serious rival in England who was also working on the problem of improving the electric lamp. Englishman Swan I realized that with the help of a pump you can make a better quality vacuum. But its carbon rod was too thick and left soot, so in practice such a lamp was difficult to use.
After analyzing the successes of Edison, Swan began to use his discoveries in his lamps. He opened his own lamp manufacturing company. Edison did not leave such impudence without attention and filed a lawsuit for violation of copyright law. Disputes continued for some time, but both researchers decided to reconcile and join forces in one company. So, there was Edison Swan United, a major manufacturer of electric lamps throughout the world.
Which inventor is considered the first?
Both Russian and American inventors worked on their projects almost simultaneously.
Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin received a patent for the invention of the lamp in 1874, Thomas Edison began research five years later.
Of course, with all due respect to the commercial talent of T. Edison, the promotion and mass use of such a necessary and useful invention, the main place for the invention of the electric lamp is rightfully given Russian inventor A. N. Lodygin.
Modern incandescent lamps are modifications of Lodygin's invention, since they have a more efficient flow of light, as well as excellent color rendering, higher efficiency. Today we have the right to be proud of our compatriot for his contribution to a brilliant and useful invention.
Hello everyone, dear lovers of interesting facts. I think that none of us can imagine our life without light. Therefore, today we will find out who was the first in the world to invent a light bulb that resembled a modern one, and also what and who contributed to this.
The invention of the incandescent light bulb, like all others, was carried out by many people in different countries. The first to demonstrate his offspring was the Englishman Humphrey Davy back in 1806. It was a rather primitive invention. Davy created lighting using electric sparks between a pair of carbon rods. The so-called arc candle was unsuitable for practical widespread use. The device itself did not find support, but the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating, after this demonstration, excited the "bright" heads of many inventors.
Years passed...
Dozens of people worked on the birth of the light bulb, picking up Davy's idea:
Year 1840 - Englishman Delarue;
Year 1854 - German Heinrich Goebel;
Year 1860, English chemist and physicist Joseph Wilson Swan showed his work;
Year 1872-1873 - Alexander Lodygin;
Year 1875 - V. F. Didrikhson improved the work of Lodygin;
Year 1875-1876 - Russian electrical engineer Pavel Nikolaevich Yablochkov, worked on an "electric candle";
Thomas Edison in 1879 completed what his predecessors could not do.
Russian engineer and his invention
Many people in different countries created their creations. Many have been unsuccessful. But the lamp of Alexander Lodygin was able to withstand all the tests. She shone for thirty minutes! This was already an unprecedented achievement. As many as two pieces of these “miracle candles” shone on the streets of St. Petersburg! Hundreds of people came to see them. It was a real sensation, but ... Not everything was so simple. Due to the circumstances, Lodygin could not achieve wide distribution of his creation.
The Russian engineer failed to complete his work, but Thomas Edison succeeded. An American scientist learned about the experiments of a Russian colleague. He decided to improve the existing invention. His work deserves respect - the scientist conducted 1500 experiments, testing various materials. But this was not the end yet - 6000 experiments with carbon filaments - this is the contribution that the inventor made to the history of the light bulb.
Is the invention so unambiguous?
Without the ideas of all the predecessors and the invention of Alexander Nikolaevich, Thomas Edison probably would not have succeeded. This fact is obvious, but unprovable. The painstaking, persistent work of the American gave mankind a thread that burned for hundreds of hours without burning out. And he was also able to organize the production of light bulbs at the first specialized plant, they dispersed to all countries of the world, replacing traditional candles. This is how the Edison Electrical Light Company was born.
No one dares to say unequivocally that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, but no one has yet been able to refute this either. The incandescent lamp was invented before him. However, he created the first practical model along with the electrical system, which is his undeniable achievement. Well, now you know who was the first in the world to invent a light bulb, without which today's life simply cannot be imagined.
Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin (10/18/1847-03/16/1923)
Magic light was invented in Russia
Svetlana Makarova, Pensioner and Society newspaper, No. 11, 2007
Dear editor! First, thank you for being you. Secondly, I wish that the Pensioner and Society newspaper continues to stick to its line. Rather, our common line is to revive in our boundless country the national pride of the great and indestructible Russian people. It is bitter and painful to watch how poorly educated scumbags and frankly random people who have received television channels at their disposal cripple the generations growing up in Russia. It's not a secret for anyone that systemic lies from a microscopic state are spreading throughout the world, global lies are spreading from. Through the mouths of preschool children, TV screenwriters who grovel before the West report that the first plane was built by the Americans, the Wright brothers, and not ours. Mozhaisky! By the way, long before them. And about the light bulb, back in Soviet times, they lied that it was invented by the American Edison. As if it wasn't Yablochkova and Lodygin, and half a century before them! - Petrova. I want to cry when my grandchildren repeat the nonsense that the producer Gurevich What pays him? - issues from the so-called "children's TV channel" "Bibigon". Or did Gurevich have bad grades in history during his school years? Do we really have no one left who is able to resist these liars?
Tatyana Vasilievna Poltavets, Moscow region.
Why are there cunning historians in the USA?
Before turning to the given topic, we note that there are many such letters in our editorial office. More phone calls and emails. However, we, unlike some readers, are categorically opposed to treating all TV journalists with the same brush. In recent years, well-educated and responsible young employees have appeared on domestic television, who did not grow up on the notorious textbooks. Therefore, they understand what happened and sometimes still happens in our country.
And we will start the fight for restoration of historical justice not from the aircraft manufacturer Mozhaisky, who is hushed up by cunning US historians, but from an electric light bulb. To do this, let's look at the wonderful book by Leonid Borisovich Repin "Discoverers". Here is what he writes about the famous Lodygin.
In one old book published at the beginning of the twentieth century by the publishing house of Mauritius Wolf, the following is written in an essay about the great Russian inventor: “ Lodygin This surname is not known to many. Meanwhile, this name is associated with great importance improvement in the field of electric lighting, which marked the beginning of the widespread distribution of electric light.
And indeed, even in the excellent dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron, not a word can be found about him. There is one Lodygin - a well-known expert in horse breeding, who developed the genealogy of the trotting breed, and Alexander Nikolaevich, the inventor of the incandescent lamp, far ahead of the well-known to everyone - no! Newspapermen in the States did their best, advertising worked hard, American sleight of hand, sparing no big money for the sake of even greater profits, and all the glory, success goes to Edison. At home, they kept quiet about Lodygin, although an official patent document confirming Russian priority existed undeniably. We don't value ours. Decades after they pass away - then it happens, we catch ourselves. Afterwards, we can lament ...
After triumphal flashes "Russian world", which lit up the streets of a number of European capitals, and after the early death of his exhausted struggle for the life of the Russian inventor Yablochkova it became clear what the next step would be. It became clear that some kind of magic lamp was about to appear, which would turn electric lighting from an amazing, extraordinary phenomenon into a ubiquitous one. Economical, reliable, efficient. But from whom can we expect such an accomplishment, capable of presenting it in a new light - from the American Edison, who has already stunned his contemporaries with a cascade of remarkable inventions, or from Russians, doing their business slowly, but very brightly, in their own way and always - unexpectedly?
Let's digress a bit. The inventor Lodygin did not immediately take shape. And he did not immediately take up the problem of electric light. He was the same age as Pavel Nikolaevich Yablochkova, and their fates were in many ways similar. True, Lodygin survived much Yablochkov. But here, to whom that is released ...
Lodygin first invented the electric plane!
In September 1870, on the table of the general of infantry and cavalier Milyutin, Minister of War, lay down a curious document that should have played a crucial role in the history of technology, but, nevertheless, remained in vain, since the minister showed no interest in him. The retired twenty-three-year-old cadet Alexander Nikolaev, son of Lodygin, who served in the Voronezh Cadet Corps as a laboratory assistant in a physics office and an observer of a weather station, as well as an assistant to a blacksmith at the Tula Arms Plant, wrote in a petition: “The experiments carried out by the commission on the use of balloons in military affairs give me the courage to turn to Your Excellency with a request to draw your attention to the electric aircraft invented by me - an aeronautic machine that can move freely at various heights and in various directions and, serving as a means of transporting cargo and people, can satisfy at the same time specially military requirements ... "
The minister, as we have already noted, did not pay attention, although, for the sake of curiosity alone, he should have summoned the inventor of the electric aircraft. The authorities did not want to get acquainted with Lodygin's theory, not to mention the fact that they did not even think of allocating him the necessary funds to set up a test machine. And he, without wasting time, began to invent an electric lamp necessary for night flight. And, judging by the available information, he even managed to conduct some experiments with her.
Without waiting for an answer, Lodygin, with considerable difficulty, scraped together money for a trip to and, without taking care of his wardrobe in the least, as he was in an army coat, in a loose shirt, and boots, went to a country that is a recognized trendsetter. Not in order, of course, to dress there in a European way, in accordance with the time. And to implement their technical ideas. Since he couldn’t move at home, maybe in France he will be able to achieve at least something ... Moreover, the St. Petersburg professor, with whom the young inventor managed to contact, having familiarized himself with the calculations and drawings, confirmed their solidity in theory.
Lodygin's electric plane miraculously anticipated the idea and main design features helicopter. At that time, projects of controlled balloons were already appearing, but the Lodygin machine was the next stage of engineering and essentially had nothing to do with them. She was conceived by the designer in the form of an elongated cylinder, cone-shaped in front and spherical at the end behind. The screw, located in the stern, was supposed to tell the device movement in the horizontal direction, and the screw on top, with a vertically standing axis, depending on the angle at which the blades were turned, gave different speeds in both the vertical and horizontal directions. This machine was not destined to be embodied in metal - the Russian inventor Lodygin was too ahead of his time…
The electric plane needed a light bulb.
There is one truly amazing page in the history of the electric plane. From the idea of electric lighting in night flight, a creature arose, which was destined to glorify the name Lodygin. It was the electric lamp, and not the wonderful electric plane, for which he was ready for any hardships, that first brought him success, fame, and then, alas, unfair oblivion.
But how did Alexander Lodygin come to his great? How did you manage to do what many aspired to? After all, such minds, such talents tried to achieve the same! Maybe chance turned the wheel of luck in his direction and helped him achieve success? A momentary flash of conjecture - and everything subsided, did the decision come?
Anything but the occasion. There were a great many cases, but such that only hindered him. There must have been a moment of insight. Only after all, one must take into account that not everyone is given the opportunity to evoke in himself, to experience the illumination of a happily found thought. Solutions.
Already seventy years in the world after the experience of the Russian genius Vasily Vladimirovich Petrov knew: if you pass a sufficiently strong current through two closely spaced carbon rods, connect them, and then separate them, a blinding light appears between their ends - an electric arc. Duga Petrov. It will shine until the electrodes burn out. Petrov immediately realized how important a discovery he managed to make: "... from which the dark peace is quite illuminated, perhaps". And he turned out to be right. In the main: the arc has found application. But it was not possible to get a reliable source of light from it. Lodygin decided to choose a different path: not an arc lamp will illuminate the world, but.
Through experiments, endless experiments, Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin advanced towards his historical goal. Not every conductor was suitable as a source of glow. Glow is the result of heating, and when heated, transformations of the conductor substance will certainly occur - either it burns out, or, as the inventor put it, "chemically decomposes." This means that there is only one way out: to pass current through the conductor in empty space or in nitrogen. Although, of course, you can try to replace nitrogen with some other gas that does not combine with the substance of the conductor.
Here is the solution: a neutral gas is required in a glass flask, where a conductor is inserted through a hermetically sealed end.
Lodygin made several lamps according to this principle, and each gave an example of different solutions. The biggest difficulty was that there was no reliable pump that could pump out air to the required degree of rarefaction. Besides, Lodygin and looked for all sorts of ways to seal. In the end, he chose a lamp with an open base immersed in an oil bath. Insulated wires ran through the bath to the carbon rods. There were two of them: as soon as the first burned out, another one was connected. Two and a half hours of continuous light is a victory!
The demonstration of the lamp caused delight and admiration. Crowds of people went to watch Lodygin's electric light. This was world's first experience electric street. The confession has come. The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences awards Lodygin the most honorable Lomonosov Prize. In addition to recognition and fame, this is a thousand rubles - a lot of money that can be used for further research. On July 11, 1874, the inventor receives a patent for "Method and Apparatus for Cheap Electric Lighting". A certain Floran, the owner of a fashionable lingerie store in St. Petersburg, installs three Lodygin vacuum tubes in his salon. Engineer Struve proposes to use Lodygin's lamps for underwater lighting during caisson work during the construction of the Alexander Bridge.
In Russia, inventors do not compete, but are friends!
The fame of new, unprecedented Russian lamps spread abroad. AT 1873 year Lodygin receives patents in Austria, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Spain and even in such distant countries as Australia, India. In Germany, patents have been issued in his name in a number of individual principalities. Received privileges in the name of the company founded by Lodygin and in France. Western newspapers vied with each other to publish reports about the new Russian invention. But neither in Russia itself, nor abroad, no one undertook the serial production of Lodygin lamps. It's a new thing, and how do you know where everything can turn ... And the other "Russian world" - Yablochkov's candle? Will she win? The theaters and shops of Paris and other cities highlighted by her - isn't this the best, most convincing evidence of her capabilities and bright electric future?
And what about myself Yablochkov? They are friends with Lodygin, and Yablochkov, continuing to work on improving his candle, gives public lectures in support of electric lighting, in support of Lodygin, and even gives him the opportunity to experiment at a factory that produces "electric candles" - Yablochkov's arc lamps. And, without restraint, it also falls on the precocious followers of Lodygin. Hurrying to cash in on his invention, including Edison. On the energetic Edison, who rushed to develop the idea of the Russian engineer Alexander Lodygin without any reference. That Edison knew about the new Russian miracle is indisputable.
Thomas Edison - a scientific and technical thief?
Only in spring 1879 years, six years after Lodygin, the shameless American puts his first experience with, and, moreover, unsuccessful: Edison lamp explodes. Only thirteen months later, having spent a huge amount of money, Edison comes to success. But Petersburg had already been illuminated by Lodygin's lamp six years earlier!
Meanwhile, already injustice is done. Russian newspapers, forgetting about their own admiration for the Lodygin lamp, praise in every way Edison! Lodygin, on the other hand, is not indignant, does not speak either publicly or in print with evidence of his irrefutable priority. What, he doesn't care? Or, perhaps, he is busy with something and does not consider it possible, necessary to interrupt for verbal disputes?
Well, of course he's busy. Lodygin moves further: from a lamp with a carbon filament filament - to a lamp with a filament of refractory metals. He dreams of giving his lamp eternity. And people - unfading light. And he creates such a lamp - with a tungsten filament, and a patent for it is bought by one of the world's largest companies - an American "General Electric". Let's make a note in passing: now the world-famous American company buys a patent Russian Lodygin and not an American Edison! It is clear why: with a tungsten and molybdenum filament, these lamps, exhibited at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 year, literally eclipsed other achievements of science and technology.
The recognition has come. After death...
The fate of Lodygin abandoned. For some time he worked as a senior chemist at a battery factory - he had to leave Russia for a while. Apparently, he was somehow connected with the people of the People's Will and, together with those who managed to escape from arrest, at the end of December 1884, he left for Paris in a clear hurry. Then he worked on the construction of the New York subway - an electric lighting engineer, built an electric car of his own design, made a number of other inventions and, after twenty-three years of absence, again set foot on Russian soil.
He brought with him drawings and calculations of several new inventions, including military ones - special alloys for armor plates and shells, an electrochemical method for separating aluminum and lead from ore, a light and strong engine suitable for aircraft, "an air torpedo for attacking enemy airplanes, airships and other things (like a rocket). BUT brought no savings. On the contrary, everything that was available was wasted. He did not know how, like Edison, to earn money greedily. What was left for him, besides how to look for a job ... But already sixty ... The Electrotechnical Institute offered a course on the design of electrochemical plants, and Lodygin happily agreed.
In 1910, the fortieth anniversary of the incandescent lamp was celebrated. Now, after, where the successful Edison was glorified at every step, bitterness broke through Alexander Nikolayevich, resentment for injustice. He wrote in the New Times newspaper: “An inventor in Russia is almost a pariah… I know this both from my personal experience and from the experience of many others…”
The light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison in 1879, right? Many people know about this and teach it in school. However, there is more to this important and much-needed item than just the name of its creator, Mr. Edison. The history of the light bulb actually began nearly 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 electrical sparks between two carbon rods. This device, known as the "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, electrical generators were invented that could feed electric arcs. This has found its application where a bright source of light 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.
1. Who invented the incandescent light bulb?
Inventors in the 19th century wanted to find a way to use the lamp both at home and at work. A completely new method of creating electric light was needed. This method of generating light is known as "filament".
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 with prolonged 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 to 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 of various materials and shapes. However, none had a practical application for everyday use. Swan's lamp, for example, used carbon paper, which quickly crumbled after burning.
2. Who invented the light bulb Edison or Yablochkov?
It was obvious that incandescent lamps would bring huge financial success if they were improved. Therefore, many inventors continued to work on finding a solution. The 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 sweeping statement was enough to drive down the stocks of the gas companies whose lamps provided the lighting of the day.
As it turned out, Edison's announcement was premature. He only had an idea how to solve the problems of electric incandescent 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 a 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 lab that a different approach was needed. Edison decides to hire young physicist Francis Upton from Princeton University to work on the project. Up until this point, Edison lab staff had tried idea after idea. Under Upton's leadership, they also began to pay attention to existing patents and achievements in order to avoid such errors. The team also began doing basic research about the properties of the materials it was 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 needed to test high-resistance materials to find what he was looking for.
The inventor began to think not only about electric light separately, but also about the whole electrical system. How big does a generator need to be to light up a nearby area? What voltage is needed to light the 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. The longer time was achieved by creating a better vacuum inside the lamp (less oxygen inside the lamp slowed down the burning process). Charcoal organic materials were tested and Japanese bamboo was found to be the best. By the end of 1880, charred bamboo fibers burned for almost 600 hours. Filaments have proven to be the best form to increase the electrical resistance of materials.
Charred bamboo had a high resistance and fit well into the scheme of building an entire electrical system. In 1882, the Edison Electrical Light Company was founded, which had its stations located on Pearl Street, providing New York with light. In 1883 Macy's shop was the first to install new incandescent light bulbs.
3. Edison vs. Swan.
Meanwhile in England, Joseph Swan continued to work on electric light bulbs after seeing that new pumps made better vacuums. 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. In the end, the two inventors decided to end the dispute 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.
In contact with
The question is who invented the light bulb first Oddly enough, it excites people in our time. Americans and pro-Western people are sure that T. Edison was the first. Russian patriots prove that the first one is A.N. Lodygin. But there were also the Frenchman Delarue, the Belgian Jobar, the Englishman D.W. Swan, German G. Goebel, Russian P.Ya. Yablochkov and other scientists who contributed to this invention.
The ancient forerunners of the electric light bulb
The history of the study of ancient structures - pyramids, underground paintings, caves, etc. is replete with questions and riddles. One of them - "In what kind of lighting were the paintings of these structures made in the complete absence of natural light and soot from possible torches inside the premises themselves?". The question haunts researchers for decades.
On the walls of the pyramids themselves there is an answer that is hard for historians to believe - ancient people used lamps, most likely electric, powered by powerful batteries.
How the modern light bulb was invented
The appearance on a mass scale of electric bulbs was prepared by a number of scientists and inventors. Often they carried out their own research, but there were also those who improved or streamlined the inventions of their predecessors. Let's name the main milestones in the creation of an electric lamp:
- In 1820, Delarue tested a light bulb in which a platinum wire served as a filament. The platinum was perfectly heated and luminous, but the invention of the Frenchman remained a prototype, to which the author never returned;
- 1838 was marked by the first use of a carbon rod in the form of an incandescent element. The Belgian Jobar was engaged in research on the possibilities of its glow;
- in 1854, Goebel conducted experiments on bamboo, which he used instead of a filament. He also owns the first application for an evacuated vessel lamp. Goebel was the first to invent the electric light bulb that could be used for lighting;
- in 1860 D.W. Swan patents a lamp in which the luminous element was in a vacuum. This invention was impossible to use in mass application due to the difficulties of obtaining a vacuum;
- The year 1874 was marked by the receipt of a patent for a lamp with a carbon filament placed in a vacuum by the Russian research engineer A.N. Lodygin. This lamp was able to burn for half an hour and was used to illuminate the streets. Therefore, the Russian engineer is considered the one who invented the light bulb first in the world;
- in 1875 V.F. Didrikhson, collaborator A.N. Lodygin, improved his lamp by installing several coal hairs independent of each other, thereby extending the glow period of the device. In this lamp, when one hair burned out, the next one immediately lit up;
- Russian electrical engineer P.N. Yablochkov in 1875 - 1876 creates a lamp with a kaolin filament, which did not require a vacuum for continuous burning. Yablochkov's device differed from previous versions by the need to preheat the conductor, for example, with a match flame;
- in 1878, a patent was obtained for a lamp with a carbon fiber filament placed in rarefied oxygen. The lamp gave a bright light, but not for long. The author of the invention was D.U. Swan;
- in 1879 in the USA a patent was issued for a lamp with a platinum filament to T. Edison;
- in 1880, T. Edison creates a lamp with a carbon filament with a burning time of 40 hours. He simultaneously invents a switch for the convenience of working with lighting. Among other things, T. Edison owns the creation of a light bulb base and a cartridge for it;
- in the 1890s A.N. Lodygin designs several versions of lamps using refractory metals for the filament. For the first time, he proposes to twist the filament in a spiral and comes to the conclusion that tungsten and molybdenum are the best options for filament. The first incandescent lamps with a tungsten filament, mass-produced in America, were produced under the patent of a Russian inventor;
- filling the flask with an inert gas to extend the life of the filament and increase the brightness of lighting was first used by General Electric in 1909 on the initiative of I. Langmuir.
From the chronology of events, it can be seen that many scientist-inventors had a hand in the invention of the incandescent lamp.
The main merit of T. Edison lies in the fact that he, having oriented himself in time, being a researcher and businessman, patented the devices invented before him, improved and began their mass production. Therefore, he cannot be considered the first who invented the incandescent lamp. , but T. Edison is the one who began the mass industrial introduction of the electric light bulb into everyday life. The first inventor of the incandescent lamp used for lighting was and remains A.N. Lodygin.
