The History of Electric Lighting
A condensed history along with photos and video

The Carbon Arc Lamp 1805 Above: Two arc lamps: single and double arc lamp designed by Elihu Thomson and E.W. Rice for the Thomson-Houston Electric Company The Thomson-Houston Company Elihu Thomson founded the Thomson-Houston Electric Company which later absorbed the Brush Electric Company. E. W. Rice Jr. helped develop a voltage regulation system along with Thomson's lighting arrestor system, these combine with Brush's work made the most successful arc light system in the world. You can see the documentary on this early period of history via our E.W. Rice documentary.   Growth of the Electric Light: 1890 - There were more than 130,000 arc lamps in use in the United States. Today the evidence of the great number of arc lamps is mostly gone The arc lamp was the first widely-used type of electric light and the first commercially successful form of electric lamp. It uses two carbon rods with an electric arc or "spark" between. It was the earliest form of electric street lighting. Unlike the rest of the types of lighting described in this history, the arc light's development coincided with basic power generation developments. To improve one, they had to improve the other. First Installations in Europe: The first installations were small ( 1-12 lights). The first installation was the lighting of the Mill of Heilmann, Ducommun, and Steinlein at Mulhausen, France (1875). Another installation was the lighting of La Chapelle railway station (France). The Thames Embankment (London) was lit in 1878 (Using Jablochoff Candles). First Installations in North America: Charles F. Brush developed the first commercially successful arc light systems in North America in Cleveland, OH (at Public Square 4/29/1879). His design of arc light AND dynamo (a dynamo generates DC power) was proven to be the best of several experimental systems by different inventors at an exposition at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia in 1977. This event also inspired E.W. Rice Jr., Edwin J. Houston, and Elihu Thomson to create arc light systems of their own. When Thomas Edison traveled through Ohio, he was inspired by Brush's arc light work and he initiated his own electric light work. Brush improved not only the ability to add more lights to the circuit, but developed the Brush Dynamo. This dynamo was a monumental achievement in power generation. The Electric Light's first commercial success, and happier whales. In 1880 authorities in Wabash, Indiana discover that the Brush electric arc light system for it's streets would cost $800 less per year than gas lighting. Also they stated that they would get greater volume of illumination. This was the beginning of the revolution across the world to switch to the electric light. By proving to be economically better than oil and gas the future was set. This also stopped the complete eradication of certain whale species that provided the oil, these whales were already close to extinction in the 1880's due to over-hunting. Gas used in lights was made from coal. The coal was shipped to cities, and cooked in a crucible, a gas resulted that supplied the town's light systems. This process was very dirty, it produced massive amounts of carbon monoxide and a coke remains that was then shipped out for other uses as dirty combustible fuel. The electric arc light eliminated the need for plants that produced urban localized pollution.   Here are some major engineers and dates: 1805 or 1809 - Sir Humphry Davy - used charcoal sticks and batteries to make the first experimental arc lamp 1840s - Jean Bernard Leon Foucault developed mechanisms for feeding carbon rods to make an arc light last longer. 1844 - first major public demonstration of an arc lamp in Paris 1876 - Pavel Yablochkov - Yablochkov Candle, a form of arc lamp is developed. 1876 - Charles F. Brush, Wallace, Gramme - developed more advanced arc light designs and dynamos to go with it. 1877 -Charles F. Brush develops a better carbon stick by using 0.03% ash and electroplating the rods with copper to slow the stick's consumption. 1879 - Brush makes the first public lighting in the US at the Wanamakers department store in Philadelphia 1879 - Niagara Falls first lit by the electric light with 16 Brush arc lamps. 1880s - Elihu Thomson, Frantisek Krizik, E.W. Rice - all improved the arc lamp by improving the carbon composition, mechanical feed device, and other components. Components of the arc light system: A Current Regular developed by E.W. Rice Jr. allowed more lights to be places on one circuit A Controlling Magnet developed by Elihu Thomson Thomson's dynamo for sale in the 1880s, used in Philadelphia The carbon arc lamp was replaced by the incandescent lamp starting in the 1880's. It was still used for street and factory lighting into the early 1900's. The carbon arc lamp is still used today in powerful spot lights in some places. The lamp produces an incredibly bright light which is unequaled for this use. Most of the hundreds of thousands of arc lamps and fixtures were scrapped for World War I. Some fixtures that remained in factories were gutted out and had sockets placed in them for the Mazda incandescent bulb. Written by M. Whelan with additional research by Rick DeLair Sources: The General Electric Story: A Heritage of Innovation 1876-1999, 1999, by the Hall of Electrical History Publication Wikipedia, www.debook.com: "A Short History of the Electric Light" by Frank Andrews "Men and Volts" by John Hammond 1941, illustrations part of the Thomson-Houston catalogue, at the Schenectady Museum collection This video below shows an arc lamp working as part of a Magic Lantern (An earlyproject device that would project glass slides onto a large screen)   This video below shows arc lamps in a simple street lighting setup:

Incandescent Lighting This light as we know it was first developed by Thomas Edison and Joseph Wilson Swan in 1879 at the same time. Before these men were other inventors and experimenters who used low resistance filaments but they could never make the inventions practical. (They used a lot of amps, and they had to be run in series) The oxygen in the air burns up the filament, and Edison and Swan first realized this, so they put it in the vacuum. Why Edison Triumphed: Joseph Swan worked on the incandescent light idea since 1850. Swan did not succeed because he used only a partial vacuum in his bulb. He also used a carbonized paper filament. Edison figured out how to create a pure vacuum in his bulbs. He did this by heating up the bulb at the same time that he pumped out the air. He used a Sprengle pump. The Sprengle Pump to the left was used by Swan and Edison to pump air from the first light bulbs. Read more about the pump by clicking on the Scientific American article above. Types of Filaments: Platinum and Iridium Filaments: 1802 -1880's Humphry Davy created the first incandescent light by passing current through a platinum strip. It caused a glow and did not last long, but marked the beginning of incandescent light development. Experimenters continued over the next 70 years to use platinum and iridium. Frederick de Moleyns used a platinum filament in an evacuated glass tube to make a light bulb. It was not practical due to the high cost of platinum. Carbonized Threads and Paper: 1860's - 1883 Joseph Swan used carbonized paper to create his early filaments. Edison first used carbonized sewing thread as a filament, he managed to get it inside a vacuum. This made his first practical lightbulb. He used carbonized sewing threads until 1880. Then he used paper bristol board. (carbonized paper) This move increased lamp life to 600 hours. Bamboo brings great improvements: 1883: Edison was using a fan on a hot day, he unwound fine bamboo on a fold-out oriental fan. He carbonized it and tested it as a filament. He send assistants to Japan to find the type of bamboo that was used in that fan. They found it and imported the filaments. The first bamboo filaments had a square shape because they were cut from larger pieces using a certain process. He electroplated the bamboo directly to the lead in wires to avoid the high cost of platinum clamps. Later he used carbon paste to adhere the bamboo to the lead in wires. Cellulose Filaments: 1881 - 1904 Sir Joseph Swan developed the cellulose filament in 1881, however Edison continued to use bamboo filaments until the creation of General Electric in 1892. Cellulose filaments were replaced by Willis Whitney's GEM lamp filaments. Tantalum Filaments: 1902 - 1911 Werner von Bolton(a Georgian living in Germany) discovered that using tantalum for a filament allowed for lower energy consumption and greater brightness. Siemens and Halske Company produced these bulbs. The tantalum filament became successful and began to become a major threat to General Electric's sales. This stimulated GE to invest more in it's recently formed research lab to try to come up with a better lamp. GEM Lamp Metallized Filaments: 1904 - 1907 Willis Whitney of GE Schenectady develops a way to bake a carbon filament at 3000 C to create a filament that behaves much like metal. This improves efficiency by 25 %. This filament was used in the famous Mazda lamps which produced a very bright light. Sintered Tungsten Filaments: 1904 -1911 In 1904 sintered tungsten is developed by Alexander Just and Franz Hanaman (Austria). Tungsten improves the lamps efficiency by 100 % and is used by GE in 1907 after it buys the rights for it. *Tungsten and Molybdenum filaments were used by A.N. Lodygin (Russia) in a 1900 "Exposition Universelle" in Paris Ductile Tungsten Filaments: 1908 - today William D. Coolidge had been working with tungsten which proved to be a superior material for a long lasting lightbulb over any other material to date. Previous sintered tungsten filaments had been efficient, but brittle and not practical. Coolidge figured out how to heat tungsten and draw it out through heated dies of decreasing diameter. The result of his work was a workable, bendable (ductile) wire that was high strength and made a great filament material. The new material was used in bulbs in 1911 and this is still used today. The Future of Incandescent Lamps: The Incandescent lamp has been in the average household for more than 120 years. In the last decade a major initiative to develop more efficient lightbulbs has replaced much of the world's bulbs with compact fluorescents, however over time it will become more known that: 1.) The energy used in making CFL's and their ballasts may outweigh the energy saved over the life of the bulb. 2.) The mercury and other toxic chemicals used in the disposable CFL will contaminate landfills world wide to an increasing degree. 3.) Dependence on one source for any product is an unstable economic model. China currently produces almost all of the CFLs today. Due to the extremely low cost to produce incandescent lamps and lack of complex components and chemicals, it is likely to continue being used well into the future. This page and graphics were created by the Edison Tech Center, www.EdisonTech Center.org Written by M.Whelan with additional research by Rick DeLair Sources: "The General Electric Story" 1999. by the Hall of History, Scientific American Magazine, Wikipedia.com, Scienceclarified.com, Lexicon Siemensstast: Werner von Bolton

Nernst Lamp:

Above: Nernst Lamp uses a ceramic rod that was heated to incandescence. It is also called a incandescent glower. Ceramic does not oxidize like metal, so it did not need to be enclosed in a bulb. The point of the bulb in incandescent lamps is that it creates a vacuum around the filament to prevent the filament from burning out.

The Nernst Lamp was invented by Walther Nernst in Göttingen, Germany in 1897. This lamp emits a natural light, close to the daylight spectrum, unlike incandescent bulbs. Nerst was born Briesen in West Prussia (close to the same region as Charles Steinmetz) and studied in Zurich, Berlin, Wuerzburg. He founds the Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry at Göttingen in 1897. He worked on many other technologies and with a heavy background in science he helped steer engineering into a new age. He was a outspoken opponent of Nazism and Adolf Hitler, and as a result lost his job as a scientist and died poor in 1941. *Nobel Laureate Irving Langmuir studied under Walther Nernst in Göttingen and helped him develop the Nernst lamp. Langmuir went on to work for GE and greatly improve the incandescent lamp. (see the Incandescent Lamp section above) Continued Use Today: The "Nernst Glower" is important for use in the medical field in infrared spectroscopy.

Fluorescent Lamp 1938 The fluorescent lamp was developed for commercial use during the 1930's. The idea of the fluorescent lamp had been around since the 1880's however it took steady work over the decades to finally create a working commercially viable model. In the 1940's fluorescent lights were encouraged world wide and began to see use in all places except the home. People generally did not like the "cold" feel of the light and poor color rendering. In the 1970's it was found that a diameter of 38 mm gave the greatest efficiency. The 40 W 1200 mm x 38 mm lamp became the most used lamp in commercial/industrial buildings. For a comprehensive early history on the invention and development of the fluorescent lamp see the link below: Fluorescent Lamp Development - a comprehensive history by Rick DeLair (historic lighting collector) Sources: Lengthening the Day A History of Lighting Technology by Brian Bowers. Oxford University Press. 1998 Additional Research by Rick DeLair

How we get the diffused fluorescent light how it works here Left Photo: Rick DeLair demonstrating how fluorescent light reacts with phosphors in all standard fluorescent lights.

The Bright Stik: The Bright Stik is a type of fluorescent that was developed by John H. Harnden at General Electric. It uses a F20 T12 tube and the Ballast is a resistance, it does not use a transformer. An original 1939 Daylight fluorescent tube   Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp This is a different type of fluorescent, it does not use a filament, and uses a higher voltage. More info to come!

Halogen Lamp 1959 The halogen lamp uses tungsten and is an improved type of incandescent lamp. Elmer Fridich and Emmet Wiley received the first patents for the invention. General Electric developed an improved lamp in 1960. The M-16 light (left) is used in many modern track lighting fixtures. The lamp above is a newer halogen used in car headlights. Sylvania has a product called "Blue Star" which uses a halogen light and filters it to create a blue color. This creates a poorer color rendition than standard tungsten. This is described as CRI (color rendering index). More information to come!

Metal Halide Lamp Photo: 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, US Air Force This type of lamp was developed in the 1960s and was a spin off of the development of the high-pressure mercury lamp. This is a popular light for use at stadiums and other large areas as well as TV studios because it produces a very bright light with good color rendition. How it Works: The lamp uses mercury to create the powerful light (like the high pressure mercury vapor) but includes other metals to improve the color. The high pressure and temperature of this light would normally react and destroy the silica in the glass and electrodes. By using metals as a halide (compounds made of metal and halogen) the destructive process is stopped. When the lamp is cold the halide is condensed on the silica tube. When it starts the halides vaporize and the halides dissociate. The metal atoms diffuse away from the arc to cooler areas and recombine with the halogen before they damage any part of the silica or electrodes. The HID has recently become legal to use in the automotive headlight in the U.S.. These lamps cast a cooler light with a poorer color rendering index. This light is brighter and has created controversy as it may make the road more dangerous by "blinding" other drivers. This head light is sometimes confused with the Sylvania "Bright Star" which is a Halogen with a blue filter.

The Sodium Lamp 1931 An HPS lamp with a starting strip, it uses a xenon starting gas. Sodium Lamps were first produced by Philips in Holland in 1932. These lamps are mostly used for street lighting as well as industrial uses. Many homes have sodium lights as outdoor lights for yards or driveways. The CPS gives off a salmon pink or orange light. The LPS gives off a yellow light. For sodium lamps to work engineers had to find a sodium-resistant glass. The highly reactive sodium had a tendency to blacken and attack regular silica glass (used in most other light bulbs). German engineers discovered a sodium-resistant glass in 1931. Sodium is a solid, so it needs another substance to help start it. Neon gas helps do this, and as a result one will see a red glow as this lamp is first turned on. SEE DIAGRAM BELOW After warm-up the neon is no longer needed and the sodium vaporizes and the arc then passes through the sodium instead of the neon. The sodium glows and creates the bright light as the arc passes through it. The first lamps developed were Low-pressure Sodium Lamps and by the 1970's High-pressure Sodium Lamps were developed. Efficiency: Sodium lights have been viewed a replacement for mercury vapor because it is supposedly more efficient. Some groups have found HPS ballasts lose a lot of energy and this may negate the efficiency of the system. The low arc voltage(52-100V) requires a lossy ballast that creates a lot of heat. Low Pressure Sodium Lamp (LPS Lamp): The LPS Lamp is mostly in Europe for outdoor lighting. They make a monochromatic yellow light. In the diagrams below you will see how as it starts it creates a red glow due to the neon gas. The neon gas lights at a lower temperature. As the temperature increases the sodium begins to vaporize and the lamp turns to a pure yellow. An LPS with it's yellow glow Argon has a lower glow voltage, argon helps the smaller lamps start at a lower voltage. The larger LPS lamps used in street lighting mostly do not use argon. High Pressure Sodium Lamp (HPS Lamp) Maintaining a vacuum is difficult, oxygen and other gasses can seep in over time. The getter keeps a stable vacuum by sucking out remaining oxygen and unwanted gasses. The sodium is stored often stored in the amalgam reservoirs on the ends of the arc tube when it is cool unlike the LPS lamp where the sodium is stored in the bumps on the side of the tube (see LPS diagrams) Disposal: The Sodium in Sodium lamps is a highly volatile substance. When exposed to air the sodium may explode. The sodium lamp should not be disposed of in normal the normal garbage disposal. There have been many cases of garbage trucks catching fire when the bulbs in the back broke. Sodium lamps also contain mercury. The newer LPS lamps contain less mercury than before, but this has effected performance negatively.

Neon and Argon Glow Lamps More information to come!

Electroluminescent Lamps More information to come!

LED- Light Emitting Diodes A collection of LED colors See our videos page to see an article about using LEDs in the Jungle to improve video production capabilities

We will include more information over time.

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