- Though popular belief is that Thomas Edison was the man responsible for coming up with the idea of electric light, the first person who tried creating it was Sir Humphry Davis. Through research and demonstrations, he proved that by using electric currents, thin strips of metal could be heated and turned into white heat. This white heat produced illumination or light. Davis also discovered that the only metal that worked to produce this white light was platinum.
In the 1870s, Thomas A. Edison began to work on electric light. He was completely determined to figure out why all of his predecessors inventions had failed. Using some of their discoveries, Thomas Edison used platinum and developed a lamp and had it patented. Still, he continued to work on something even better. Edison used his research in lighting in order to build a power source that allowed multiple lights to burn at once. This is where today's modern light bulb came about. - Creating today's light bulbs require a various amount of materials. The first is tungsten. Tungsten is a very fragile metal but can be heated at relatively high temperatures without problems. The tungsten filaments in light bulbs can be heated over 4,500 degrees F. The tungsten filament is was a very important change in the light bulb considering its low price and ability to withstand high temperatures.
The wires used to carry the electrical currents is created with dumet. Dumet is two metals (nickel and iron) that create a wire. In order to keep the wire in place, it is placed into a solution of borax. This allows it to stick to glass more effectively.
The actual bulb that you see today is created with glass, argon and nitrogen. These gases (argon and nitrogen) help to expand the life expectancy of the filaments. All air is removed from the glass bulb and then nitrogen and other gases are put in its place. A metal base that resembles a screw is put at the bottom of the bulb. This base is made from aluminum. - The filament, the bulb and the base are the three main parts to a light bulb. Light bulbs were created by hand back in the days of Thomas Edison, but today they are mainly created using machinery.
The filament is created by mixing tungsten with a binder material. It is then pulled through a machine in order to create a very thin, threadlike wire. This tungsten wire is then wrapped around a bar in order to create a coil. This coil is then attached to the wires that carry the electric currents. The wires that carry the currents are welded (in larger bulbs) and hooked to the end of the filament in smaller bulbs.
The light bulb is created after heating a ribbon of glass. This ribbon of glass is placed on a conveyor belt and blown into molds. These molds create the case or glass bulb. The bulbs are cooled using another machine and then coated with a milky white silica. This coating covers the filament in order to reduce glare. The strength of the bulb (or wattage) is printed on the outside of the bulb and then the bulb is placed onto the base. The base is created by using screw-shaped molds so that it can fit snugly in a lamp. - After all materials have been processed, the finished pieces are ready for assembly. Machines are used in order to construct the final product. The filament and wires are placed together. The casing is placed over the filament. All air is removed from the bulb and replaced with nitrogen. Finally the base is put on the bulb, being sure that all wires are touching in order for the light bulb to be effective.
Bulbs are then tested and packaged. They are then shipped to stores for sale.
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