Light BULB

Last crawled date: 1 year, 8 months ago

The incandescent light bulb turns electricity into light by sending the electric current through a thin wire called a filament. Electrical filaments are made up mostly of tungsten metal. The resistance of the filament heats the bulb. Eventually the filament gets so hot that it glows, producing light.
The filament needs to be protected from the air, so it is inside the bulb, and the air in the bulb is either removed (a vacuum) or more often, replaced with a noble gas that doesn't affect anything, like neon or argon. Only about 3% of the energy that goes into an incandescent light bulb actually makes light, the rest makes heat. That's one of the reasons LED's are more efficient.
This type of light bulb worked poorly and was little used until Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison improved it in the 1870s. It was the first light bulb that could be used in houses - it did not cost too much, and it worked well. For the first time, people did not need a fire (candles, oil lamps, kerosene lamps, etc.) to make light. It was bright enough to let people read easily at night or do work. It was used to light stores and streets, and people could travel after dark. This started the common use of electricity in homes and businesses. They had carbon filaments until tungsten ones were developed in the 1900s. They last longer and make a brighter light. solidworks bulb light heat filaments electricity energy engineering wire glass metal dark home led lamps incandescent read night electronics other