“I didn’t fail a thousand times. The light bulb was an invention with a thousand steps.” – Thomas A. Edison
There is only one thing that travels across the galaxies and space. With the speed of 3 lakh kilometres per second, light is the fastest entity in the universe.
The darkness of night led man to think of ways to tame this energy. Look around you now. What do you see? Roads, buildings, vehicles, aeroplanes, street lamps(electrical), bright shops, restaurants, airports, stations, metro trains, etc. Almost all of them are electric. All of these things need light. The main use of light is to see, wherever you are, whatever you are doing.
How did man dispel darkness?
Even though prehistoric people made use of fire for light, this energy took millennia to go from the spark produced by rubbing 2 flintstones together and lighting up dried leaves and twigs to the very first light bulb. In fact, it was only after the invention of electricity that Thomas Edison created the first-ever filament light bulb.
The Light Bulb: An invention to change lives
Thomas Alva Edison produced over 13 continuous hours of light with thread filaments made of cotton. He made his first light bulb on January 27, 1880. Afterwards, with further research, he upgraded the filament with carbonised bamboo. In 1879, he made an incandescent bulb that burned long enough to be practical, long enough to light a home for many hours This bulb produced over 1,200 hours of continuous light. This light bulb evolved through the ages, and the modernised filament bulb, the torch, the tube light were all invented by the 1940s.
Isn’t in fascinating to learn how light has evolved from its infancy to its modern avatar? I believe that ‘Light’ is one of the most important and wonderful discoveries.
October, 2024
