Where Would We Be Without the Light Bulb?

Answer 1

When Thomas Edison first came up with the concept of the light bulb, he may or may not have understood all of the ramifications of his invention. Where would we be without the light bulb? In the dark. Seriously, the light bulb has probably done more to change our lives than almost any other modern day convenience.

Before there was the electric light bulb, people had to rely on candles and lanterns to light up the night. It was much more difficult to light up a room than simply flipping a switch. You always had to make sure there were plenty of candles and that the flame did not go out. Candles were dangerous and often started fires. Kerosene lamps were somewhat of an improvement, but they were far from perfect.

Before the light bulb came in to widespread use, cities would shut down once the sun set. There might have been a few streets lit with kerosene lamps and even a few shops that could operate in the late night hours, but, for the most part, people stayed home and went to sleep. The idea of having a home fully lit was not a practical reality.

Once electricity became available throughout the cities and towns and light bulbs could turn the night in to day, everything changed. Productivity certainly increased dramatically as a 12 hour work day could be turned in to a 24 hour work day. Factories could stay open day and night and more goods could be produced. Without the light bulb, the industrial revolution would not have been as robust as it was.

Today, the incandescent light bulb is slowly being replaced by more modern technology. The simple concept of heating a filament inside of a vacuum to create light was not much changed for nearly 100 years. In the past 10 or 20 years as the world looks to save energy and be more efficient, light bulb design has seen dramatic changes.

We started with improvements in the incandescent bulb. There were different bulbs made for different applications. Fluorescent lighting saved energy and worked well to light up large spaces. Today we have the high efficiency bulbs that look like a coiled tube. There are LED lights that last forever and we have even harnessed the sun with solar lights.

What started in a New Jersey Lab with Edison has become as natural as breathing. The light bulb truly changed the behavior of the world.