Thomas Edison improved upon previous inventions to create the first commercially efficient and widely used light bulb. Many inventors worked on inventing a long-lasting incandescent light bulb, but Edison succeeded in 1879. Nikola Tesla’s AC technology paved the way for more powerful electricity and light. The incandescent light bulb is inefficient, and many countries have implemented a bulb phase-out.
Although American inventor Thomas Edison is widely credited as the person who invented the light bulb, he actually improved upon previous inventions to create the first commercially efficient and widely used light bulb. The creation of the light bulb is thought to have begun in the 1800s with the invention of the voltaic wire by Italian inventor Alessandro Volta, which provided the first electric current. In the same year, the English scientist Humphrey Davy created the first electric light. Over the next several decades, it is estimated that as many as 20 inventors worked on inventing a long-lasting incandescent light bulb. In 1879, Edison became the first to succeed. His bulb could burn for around 1,500 hours, compared to previous versions which only lasted a few minutes.
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Edison’s former partner Nikola Tesla invented alternating current (AC) technology, which uses electricity to flow from multiple directions. Tesla’s invention paved the way for more powerful electricity and light that spread over long distances.
In 1882, the first set of glowing string lights were used by an associate of Thomas Edison to decorate a Christmas tree.
An incandescent light bulb only converts about 10% of the energy it uses into light, making it very inefficient. In 2005, Brazil and Venezuela were the first countries to implement a bulb phase-out. The European Union and the United States have since done the same.
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