The story of Edison's invention of the electric light is briefly as follows:
British scientists David and Faraday invented the arc lamp. This kind of electric lamp uses a carbon rod as the filament. Although it can emit bright light, the light is dazzling and consumes a lot of power, making it very impractical. So Edison secretly made up his mind: "We must invent an electric lamp with soft light that can be used by thousands of households."
He began to work on the material of the filament: from traditional carbon strips to metal ruthenium , chromium, platinum, etc. In this way, Edison tested more than 1,600 materials. However, Edison did not retreat in the face of repeated failures in the experiments. He firmly believed that failure is the mother of success.
In October 1879, by chance, Edison tried to put carbonized cotton thread into a light bulb. When the power was turned on, the light bulb glowed golden and illuminated the entire laboratory. After 13 After months of hard work, more than 6,000 materials were tried, and more than 7,000 tests were conducted, finally a breakthrough was made.
The lamp stayed on for a full 45 hours before the filament burned out. This was mankind's first practical electric lamp. Later, October 21, 1879, was designated as the Invention Day of the Electric Light, marking the birth of usable electric light.
But Edison was not satisfied. He wanted to extend the life of the light bulb. Later, he tried to use carbonized bamboo filament as filament. The test results showed that using bamboo filament was very effective. The filament was durable and the light bulb could be bright. 1200 hours. So electric lights began to be mass-produced, and after that, electric lights began to enter the homes of ordinary people.
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 - October 18, 1931), was born in Milan, Ohio, USA, and died in West Orange, New Jersey, USA . Inventor, entrepreneur.
Edison was the first person in human history to use mass production principles and electrical engineering research laboratories to engage in invention patents that had a major and far-reaching impact on the world. His inventions of the phonograph, movie camera, and electric light had a great impact on the world. He made more than 2,000 inventions in his lifetime and held more than 1,000 patents. Edison was ranked ninth among the 100 most influential people in the United States by the authoritative American journal "The Atlantic Monthly".