What Are Some Interesting Facts About the Light Bulb?

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There are many interesting facts about the light bulb, one of which is that the first electric light bulb was first invented in 1802 by Humphrey Devy. This rudimentary bulb consisted of a piece of carbon that glowed when wires were connected from it to an electric battery. This was more than 75 years prior to Thomas Edison’s introduction of the incandescent light bulb.

Many other inventors toyed with the notion of electric light or incandescent light during the 1800s. Some of these inventors include James Bowman Lindsay and Warren del la Rue.

Other interesting facts about the light bulb include the introduction of tungsten filaments. General Electric was the first corporation to patent these filaments in 1906. Edison had formerly tried to include tungsten filaments in his version of the incandescent bulb, but did not succeed. Also, flash photography bulbs are based upon the invention of the light bulb. These were introduced in the 1930s along with fluorescent tanning lamps.

The invention of the incandescent light bulb also paved the way for halogen light bulbs and compact fluorescent bulbs. Halogen light bulbs were first produced in the 1950s, and compact fluorescent bulbs came to be in the 1990s. Another fun light bulb fact is that it takes six billion electrons to light one 100-watt bulb for only one second.