Today it is difficult to imagine life without modern conveniences. Heat, energy, electricity, the Internet - what would happen to humanity if it were deprived of all these benefits of civilization? One of the most important inventions is the incandescent lamp. There is still debate about who invented it. If you ask the Americans, they will confidently answer: Thomas Edison. If you ask a resident of Russia, he may object: Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin. So, who is right after all.
The predecessors of the inventors of the light bulb
Even in ancient times, people tried to create devices for lighting dark rooms at night or rooms that are underground. It is known that even in the Mediterranean and in Ancient Egypt, olive oil was used, placing it in an earthen vessel with wicks made of cotton fabric. And, for example, the inhabitants of the coast of the Caspian Sea used oil in such vessels.
In the Middle Ages, candles were invented, which replaced earthen vessels. The candles included beef tallow and beeswax. For many centuries, outstanding geniuses worked on the invention of the first kerosene lamp. Among them was Leonardo da Vinci himself.
The inventors of the light bulb
Despite the best efforts of various inventors, it was not until the middle of the 19th century that a safe and mass-produced design for lighting appeared. In connection with the rapid development of technical progress, the first electric light bulb was created in a quarter of a century.
The first electric candle, which then turned into a light bulb, was invented by Pavel Nikolayevich Yablochkov. At first, street lighting was produced using his device. However, such candles were not economical enough, and therefore unprofitable.
One electric candle cost 20 kopecks, and they had to be changed every 1.5 hours.
Later, lanterns were created that were able to change the candle on their own. Despite the inefficiency and fragility of the electric candle, this invention made a significant contribution to the development of the lighting industry. At the time, this technology was used in theaters and shops, hotels and restaurants.
In the period 1840-1860. Many inventors have tried to create an incandescent lamp, but over the years, none of the attempts that have been made have been successful. They were already ready to give up on this idea. However, in 1873, a real breakthrough occurred in this area. Alexander Nikolaevich Lodygin invented a light bulb that withstood all the tests. The first lamps burned for about 30 minutes, no longer. Then, in order to increase the life of the light bulb, they came up with the idea of pumping air out of a glass bulb. In 1873, the first two lamps of A. N. Lodygin caught fire.
In addition, the invention of the incandescent lamp is credited to Thomas Edison, an American inventor. He created a lamp that had the ability to burn for hundreds of hours without losing its energy. It must be said that T. Edison knew about Lodygin's experiments and about the shortcomings of his invention, and therefore he decided to create a more reliable light bulb.
To invent such a lamp, Edison conducted 6,000 experiments.
In the final design of his lamp, he used carbon filament, which was made from sturdy bamboo hair. During his experiments, T. Edison tested almost all varieties of bamboo. The main thing that was done by this inventor was the opening of the production of light bulbs, which made it possible to put this technology on stream.
Summing up
The first patented incandescent lamp, and the electric lamp in use today, are shared by about 100 years of constant improvements made by various inventors around the world. Each of them made their own invaluable contribution to the history of the invention of the light bulb. This means that it will not be possible to unequivocally answer the question of who invented it.
