How Did Thomas Edisons Light Bulb Work?
Edison’s Electric Light On January 27, 1880, Thomas Alva Edison was granted a patent for the electric light bulb, and for the first time in human history, man could conquer the night with the flip of a switch. Although over a hundred years has passed since that day, modern incandescent light bulbs are very similar to Edison’s groundbreaking model. The same basic formula applies to both; Isolate a filament from oxygen and pass electric current through it to produce light. Resistance and Incandescence Although at first it might seem as if current flows through a conductor effortlessly, in the vast majority of circumstances this is not so. Almost all conducting materials provide some sort of impediment to the flow of current, a property called “electrical resistance.” When electricity flows through a typical conductor, some of its energy is required in order to overcome the material’s resistance. As a result, the conductor heats up, sometimes dramatically. Such is the case with incandesce
