Types of lamps and the history of their creation. Remarkable facts about lamps
The history of incandescent lamps dates back to the nineteenth century. Let's consider the main points associated with this unique invention of mankind.
Peculiarities
An incandescent light bulb is an object that is familiar to many people. Currently, it is difficult to imagine the life of mankind without the use of artificial and electric light. At the same time, rarely does anyone think about what the first lamp looked like and in what historical period it was created.
First, let's look at the design of an incandescent lamp. This source of electric light is a conductor with high temperature melting, which is in the flask. The air has been previously pumped out of it; instead, the flask is filled with an inert gas. Passing through the lamp, the electric current emits a stream of light.
The essence of operation
What is the working principle of an incandescent lamp? It lies in the fact that when electric current flows through the filament body, the element heats up, and the tungsten filament itself heats up. It is she who emits thermal and electromagnetic radiation according to Planck’s law. To create a full-fledged glow, it is necessary to heat the tungsten filament to several hundred degrees. As the temperature decreases, the spectrum becomes red.
The first incandescent lamps had many disadvantages. For example, it was difficult to regulate the temperature, as a result of which the lamps quickly failed.
Technical features
What is the design of a modern incandescent lamp? Since it became the first light source, it has a fairly simple design. The main elements of the lamp are:
- filament body;
- flask;
- current inputs.
Currently, various modifications have been developed; a fuse, which is a link, has been introduced into the lamp. An iron-nickel alloy is used to produce this part. The link is welded into the current input leg in order to prevent the glass bulb from being destroyed when the tungsten filament is heated.
Considering the main advantages and disadvantages of incandescent lamps, we note that since their introduction, lamps have been significantly modernized. For example, thanks to the use of a fuse, the likelihood of rapid destruction of the lamp was reduced.
The main disadvantage of such lighting elements is their high energy consumption. That is why they are now used much less frequently.
How did artificial light sources appear?
The history of incandescent lamps is associated with many inventors. Before the time when the Russian physicist Alexander Lodygin began working on its creation, the first models of incandescent lamps had already been developed. In 1809, the English inventor Delarue developed a model that was equipped with a platinum spiral. The history of incandescent lamps is also connected with the inventor Heinrich Hebel. In the example created by the German, a charred bamboo thread was placed in a vessel from which the air was first pumped out. Goebel has been modernizing his incandescent lamp model for fifteen years. He managed to get a working version of an incandescent light bulb. Lodygin achieved high-quality glow from a carbon rod placed in a glass vessel from which air had been removed.
Practical model option
The first incandescent lamps that could be produced in large volumes, appeared in England at the end of the nineteenth century. Joseph Wilson Swan even managed to obtain a patent for his own development.
Speaking about those who invented the incandescent lamp, it is also necessary to dwell on the experiments conducted by Thomas Edison.
He tried to use various materials as filaments. It was this scientist who proposed a platinum filament as a filament.
This invention of the incandescent lamp marked a new stage in the field of electricity. Initially, Edison's lamps operated only for forty hours, but despite this, they quickly replaced gas lighting.
During the period when Edison was engaged in his research, in Russia Alexander Lodygin managed to create several various types lamps in which refractory metals played the role of filaments.
The history of incandescent lamps indicates that it was the Russian inventor who first began to use refractory metals in the form of an incandescent body.
In addition to tungsten, Lodygin also conducted experiments with molybdenum, twisting it in the form of a spiral.
Specifics of operation of the Lodygin lamp
Modern analogues are characterized by excellent luminous flux, as well as high-quality color rendition. Their efficiency is 15% at highest value glow temperatures. Such light sources consume a significant amount of light to operate. electrical energy, therefore their operation lasts no more than 1000 hours. This is more than compensated by the low cost of the lamps, therefore, despite the variety of artificial lighting sources presented on modern market, they are still considered popular and in demand among buyers.
Interesting facts from the history of the incandescent lamp
At the end of the nineteenth century, Didrichson managed to make significant changes to the model proposed by the Russian inventor Lodygin. He completely pumped out the air from it and used several hairs in the lamp at once.
This improvement made it possible to use the lamp even if one of the hairs burned out.
English engineer Joseph Wilson Swan owns a patent confirming his creation of a carbon fiber lamp.
The fiber was located in a rarefied oxygen atmosphere, resulting in brighter and more uniform light.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, Edison, in addition to the lamp itself, invented a rotary household switch.
Large-scale appearance of lamps on the market
Since the end of the nineteenth century, lamps began to appear in which oxides of yttrium, zirconium, thorium, and magnesium were used as filaments.
At the beginning of the last century, Hungarian researchers Sandor Just and Franjo Hanaman received a patent for the use of tungsten filament in incandescent lamps. It was in this country that the first copies of such lamps were manufactured and entered the large-scale market.
In the United States, during the same time period, plants were built and launched to produce titanium, tungsten, and chromium through electrochemical reduction.
The high cost of tungsten has made adjustments to the speed of introduction of incandescent lamps into everyday life.
In 1910 Coolidge developed new technology production of thin tungsten filaments, which helped reduce the cost of production artificial lamps incandescent
The problem of its rapid evaporation was solved by the American scientist Irving Langmuir. It was they who introduced industrial production filling glass flasks with inert gas, which increased the life of the lamp and made them cheaper.
Efficiency
Almost all the energy that is received by the lamp gradually turns into thermal radiation. The efficiency reaches 15 percent at a temperature of 15 percent.
As the temperature increases, the efficiency increases, but this causes a significant reduction in the operating life of the lamp.
At 2700 K life full use artificial light source is 1000 hours, and at 3400 K - several hours.
In order to increase the durability of an incandescent lamp, developers propose reducing the supply voltage. Of course, in this case the efficiency will also decrease by about 4-5 times. Engineers use this effect in cases where reliable lighting is required. minimum brightness. For example, this is relevant for evening and night lighting of construction sites and staircases.
To do this, make a serial connection alternating current lamps with a diode, which guarantees the supply of current to the lamp for half of the entire period of current supply.
Considering that the price of a conventional incandescent lamp is significantly less than its average service life, the purchase of such lighting sources can be considered a fairly profitable undertaking.
Conclusion
The history of the appearance of the model of electric lamp that we are accustomed to is associated with the names of many Russian and foreign scientists and inventors. Over the course of two centuries, this artificial lighting source has been subject to transformations and modernization, the purpose of which was to increase the operational life of the device and reduce its cost.
The greatest wear on the filament is observed in the case of sudden voltage supply to the lamp. To solve this problem, inventors began to equip lamps with a variety of devices that ensure their smooth starting.
When cold, tungsten filament has a resistivity that is only twice that of aluminum. To avoid power peaks, designers use thermistors whose resistance drops as the temperature rises.
Low-voltage lamps with equal power have a much higher service life and light output, since they have a larger cross-section of the incandescent body. In luminaires designed for multiple lamps, series connection of several lamps of lower voltage is effective. For example, instead of six 60 W lamps connected in parallel, you can use only three.
Of course, these days there are various models electric lamps, which have much more efficient characteristics than conventional light bulbs invented during the time of Lodygin and Edison.
An incandescent light bulb is an object familiar to everyone. Electricity and artificial light have long become an integral part of reality for us. But few people think about how that very first and familiar incandescent lamp appeared.
Our article will tell you what an incandescent lamp is, how it works and how it appeared in Russia and around the world.
What is
An incandescent lamp is an electrical version of a light source, the main part of which is a refractory conductor that plays the role of a filament body. The conductor is placed in a glass flask, which inside can be pumped with an inert gas or completely devoid of air. By passing electric current through a refractory type of conductor, this lamp can emit a luminous flux.
Incandescent lamp glow
The operating principle is based on the fact that when electric current flows through the filament body, this element begins to glow, heating the tungsten filament. As a result, the filament begins to emit radiation of the electromagnetic-thermal type (Planck's law). To create a glow, the filament temperature must be a couple of thousand degrees. As the temperature decreases, the luminescence spectrum will become increasingly red.
All the disadvantages of an incandescent lamp lie in the filament temperature. The better the luminous flux is needed, the higher the temperature required. In this case, the tungsten filament is characterized by a filament limit, above which this light source permanently fails.
Note! The heating temperature limit for incandescent lamps is 3410 °C.
Design features
Since the incandescent lamp is considered the very first light source, it is quite natural that its design should be quite simple. Especially when compared with current light sources, which are gradually pushing it out of the market.
In an incandescent lamp, the leading elements are:
- lamp bulb;
- filament body;
- current leads.
Note! The first such lamp had exactly this structure.
Incandescent lamp design
To date, several variants of incandescent lamps have been developed, but this structure is typical for the simplest and very first models.
In a standard incandescent light bulb, in addition to the elements described above, there is a fuse, which is a link. It consists of a ferronickel alloy. It is welded into the gap of one of the two current leads of the product. The link is located in the current lead leg. It is needed in order to prevent the destruction of the glass bulb during a filament breakout. This is due to the fact that when the tungsten filament breaks through, an electric arc is created. It can melt the remaining thread. And its fragments can damage the glass flask and lead to a fire.
The fuse breaks the electric arc. Such a ferronickel link is placed in a cavity where the pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure. In this situation, the arc goes out.
This structure and principle of operation have ensured that incandescent lamps are widely used throughout the world, but due to their high energy consumption and short service life, they are used much less frequently today. This is due to the fact that more modern and efficient light sources have appeared.
History of discovery
Researchers both from Russia and from other countries of the world contributed to the creation of the incandescent lamp in the form in which it is known today.
Alexander Lodygin
Until the moment when the inventor Alexander Lodygin from Russia began to work on the development of incandescent lamps, some important events should be noted in its history:
- in 1809, the famous inventor Delarue from England created his first incandescent lamp equipped with a platinum filament;
- Almost 30 years later, in 1938, the Belgian inventor Jobard developed a carbon model of an incandescent lamp;
- inventor Heinrich Gobel from Germany in 1854 already presented the first version of a working light source.
The German-style light bulb had a charred bamboo filament that was placed in an evacuated vessel. Over the next five years, Heinrich Goebel continued his work and ultimately came up with the first experimental version of a working incandescent light bulb.
The first practical light bulb
Joseph Wilson Swan, a famous physicist and chemist from England, showed the world his first successes in the development of a light source in 1860 and was rewarded with a patent for his results. But some difficulties that arose with creating a vacuum showed that the Swan lamp did not work effectively and did not last long.
In Russia, as noted above, Alexander Lodygin was engaged in research in the field of effective light sources. In Russia, he was able to achieve a glow in a glass vessel of a carbon rod from which the air had previously been evacuated. In Russia, the history of the discovery of the incandescent light bulb began in 1872. It was this year that Alexander Lodygina succeeded in his experiments with a carbon rod. Two years later, in Russia he received a patent number 1619, which was issued to him for a filament type of lamp. He replaced the thread with a carbon rod located in a vacuum flask.
Exactly a year later, V.F. Didrikhson significantly improved the appearance of the incandescent lamp created in Russia by Lodygin. The improvement consisted of replacing the carbon rod with several hairs.
Note! In a situation where one of them burned out, it happened automatic switching on another.
Joseph Wilson Swan, who continued his attempts to improve the existing light source model, received a patent for light bulbs. Here, carbon fiber acted as a heating element. But here it was already located in a rarefied atmosphere of oxygen. This atmosphere allowed for very bright light.
Thomas Edison's contributions
In the 70s of the last century, an inventor from America, Thomas Edison, joined the inventive race to create a working model of an incandescent lamp.
Thomas Edison
He conducted research on the use of filaments made from a variety of materials in the form of an incandescent element. Edison received a patent in 1879 for a light bulb equipped with a platinum filament. But after a year, he returns to the already proven carbon fiber and creates a light source with a service life of 40 hours.
Note! Simultaneously with the work of creating effective source light, Thomas Edison created a rotary type of household switch.
Despite the fact that Edison's light bulbs only work for 40 hours, they have begun to actively displace old version gas lighting.
Results of Alexander Lodygin's work
While Thomas Edison was conducting his experiments on the other side of the world, Alexander Lodygin continued to engage in similar research in Russia. In the 90s of the 19th century, he invented several types of light bulbs, the filaments of which were made of refractory metals.
Note! It was Lodygin who first decided to use a tungsten filament as an incandescent body.
Lodygin's light bulb
In addition to tungsten, he also proposed using filaments made from molybdenum, and also twisting them into a spiral shape. Lodygin placed such threads in flasks from which all the air was pumped out. As a result of such actions, the threads were protected from oxygen oxidation, which made the service life of the products significantly longer.
The first type of commercial light bulb produced in America contained a tungsten filament and was manufactured according to Lodygin's patent.
It is also worth noting that Lodygin developed gas-filled lamps containing carbon filaments and filled with nitrogen.
Thus, the authorship of the first incandescent light bulb sent to mass production, belongs specifically to the Russian researcher Alexander Lodygin.
Features of the Lodygin light bulb
Modern incandescent lamps, which are direct descendants of Alexander Lodygin’s model, are characterized by:
- excellent luminous flux;
- excellent color rendition;
Color rendering of incandescent lamp
- low convection and heat conduction;
- filament temperature - 3400 K;
- at the maximum level of the filament temperature indicator, the efficiency coefficient is 15%.
Besides this type The light source consumes a lot of electricity during its operation compared to other modern light bulbs. Due to their design features, such lamps can operate for approximately 1000 hours.
But, despite the fact that according to many evaluation criteria this product is inferior to more advanced modern sources light, it, thanks to its cheapness, still remains relevant.
Conclusion
Inventors from different countries. But only the Russian scientist Alexander Lodygin was able to create the most best option, which we, in fact, continue to use to this day.
Secrets of installing spotlights in suspended ceiling: How difficult is it?
It often happens that a device used in everyday life, which is of great importance for all mankind, does not remind us in any way of its creator. But in our homes the light bulb was lit thanks to the efforts specific people. Their service to humanity is invaluable - our homes are filled with light and warmth. The history of incandescent lamps presented below will introduce you to this great invention and the names of those with whom it is associated.
As for the latter, two names can be noted - Alexander Lodygin and Thomas Edison. Although the merit of the Russian scientist was very great, the palm belongs to the American inventor. Therefore, we will briefly talk about Lodygin and dwell in detail on Edison’s achievements. The history of incandescent lamps is associated with their names. They say it took Edison great amount time. He had to conduct about 2 thousand experiments before the design familiar to us all was born.
Invention made by Alexander Lodygin
The history of incandescent lamps is very similar to the history of other inventions made in Russia. Alexander Lodygin, a Russian scientist, was able to make a carbon rod glow in a glass vessel from which the air had been pumped out. The history of the creation of the incandescent lamp begins in 1872, when he managed to do this. Alexander received a patent for the electric carbon incandescent lamp in 1874. A little later, he proposed replacing the carbon rod with tungsten. The tungsten part is still used in incandescent lamps.
The merit of Thomas Edison
However, it was Thomas Edison, the American inventor, who was able to create a durable, reliable and inexpensive model in 1878. In addition, he managed to organize its production. His first lamps used charred shavings made from Japanese bamboo as the filament. Tungsten filaments, familiar to us, appeared much later. They began to be used on the initiative of Lodygin, the Russian engineer mentioned above. If it weren’t for him, who knows how the history of incandescent lamps would have developed in subsequent years.
American Edison mentality
The American mentality is significantly different from the Russian one. US citizen Thomas Edison had everything going for him. Interestingly, while thinking about how to make telegraph tape more durable, this scientist invented waxing paper. This paper was then used as candy wrappers. Seven centuries of Western history preceded the invention of Edison, and not so much by the development of technical thought, but by the gradual formation of an active attitude towards life among people. Many talented scientists persistently pursued this invention. The history of the origin of the incandescent lamp is connected, in particular, with the name of Faraday. He created fundamental works on physics, without the support of which Edison’s invention would hardly have been feasible.
Other inventions made by Edison
Thomas Edison was born in 1847 in Port Heron, a small American town. The fact that the young inventor had the ability to instantly find investors for his ideas, even the most daring ones, played a role in Thomas’s self-realization. And they were willing to risk considerable sums. For example, while still a teenager, Edison decided to print a newspaper on a train while it was moving and then sell it to passengers. And news for the newspaper should have been collected right at the bus stops. There were immediately people who lent money to buy a small printing press, as well as those who let Edison into the baggage car with this press.
Inventions before Thomas Edison were either made by scientists and were a by-product of the discoveries they made, or by practitioners who perfected what they had to work with. It was Edison who made invention a separate profession. He had many ideas, and almost each of them became a germ for subsequent ones, which required further development. Thomas, throughout his long life, did not care about his personal comfort. It is known that when he visited Europe, already at the zenith of his fame, he was disappointed by the laziness and foppishness of European inventors.
It was difficult to find an area in which Thomas had not made a breakthrough. It is estimated that this scientist made about 40 major discoveries every year. In total, Edison received 1,092 patents.
The spirit of American capitalism pushed Thomas Edison upward. He managed to get rich at the age of 22, when he came up with a quotation “ticker” for the Boston Stock Exchange. However, Edison's most important invention was the creation of the incandescent lamp. With its help, Thomas managed to electrify all of America, and then the whole world.
Construction of the power plant and the first consumers of electricity
The history of the lamp begins with the construction of a small power plant. The scientist built it in his Menlo Park. She was supposed to serve the needs of his laboratory. However, the resulting energy turned out to be more than was necessary. Then Edison began selling the surplus to neighboring farmers. It is unlikely that these people realized that they had become the first paying consumers of electricity in the world. Edison never aspired to become an entrepreneur, but when he needed something for his work, he opened a small production facility in Menlo Park, which later grew to a large size and followed its own path of development.
History of changes in incandescent lamp design
An electric incandescent lamp is a light source where the conversion of electrical energy into light occurs due to the incandescence of a refractory conductor electric shock. Light energy was first produced in this way by passing current through a carbon rod. This rod was placed in a vessel from which the air had previously been pumped out. Thomas Edison in 1879 created a more or less durable design using carbon filament. However, there is a rather long history of the incandescent lamp in modern form. As an incandescent body in 1898-1908. they tried to use different metals (tantalum, tungsten, osmium). Tungsten filament, arranged in a zigzag pattern, has been used since 1909. Incandescent lamps began to be filled in 1912-13. inert gases (krypton and argon), as well as nitrogen. At the same time, tungsten filament began to be made in the form of a spiral.
The history of the development of the incandescent lamp is further marked by its improvement through improved luminous efficiency. This was done by increasing the temperature of the filament body. The service life of the lamp was maintained. Filling it with inert high-molecular gases with the addition of halogen led to a decrease in contamination of the flask with tungsten particles sprayed inside it. In addition, it reduced the rate of its evaporation. The use of a filament in the form of a bi-spiral and tri-spiral led to a reduction in heat loss through the gas.
This is the history of the invention of the incandescent lamp. Surely you will be interested in learning about what its different varieties are.
Modern varieties of incandescent lamps
Many types of electric lamps consist of certain similar parts. They vary in shape and size. A filament body (that is, a spiral made of tungsten) is fixed to a metal or glass rod inside the flask using holders made of molybdenum wire. The ends of the spiral are attached to the ends of the inputs. In order to create a vacuum-tight connection with a blade made of glass, the middle part of the inputs is made of molybdenum or platinite. The lamp bulb is filled with inert gas during vacuum treatment. Then the stem is welded and a spout is formed. The lamp is equipped with a base for mounting in the socket and protecting the nose. It is attached to the flask with pinning mastic.
Appearance of lamps
Today there are many types of incandescent lamps, which can be divided into areas of application (for car headlights, general purpose etc.), according to the lighting properties of their bulb or structural form (decorative, mirror, with a diffusing coating, etc.), as well as according to the shape of the filament body (with a bi-spiral, with a flat spiral, etc.). As for the dimensions, there are large-sized, normal, small-sized, miniature and subminiature. For example, the latter include lamps with a length of less than 10 mm, the diameter of which does not exceed 6 mm. As for large-sized ones, these include those whose length is more than 175 mm and whose diameter is at least 80 mm.
Lamp power and service life
Modern incandescent lamps can operate at voltages from fractions of a unit to several hundred volts. Their power can be tens of kilowatts. If you increase the voltage by 1%, the luminous flux will increase by 4%. However, this will reduce the service life by 15%. If you turn on the lamp on short term for a voltage that exceeds the rated voltage by 15%, it will be damaged. This is why voltage surges so often cause light bulbs to burn out. Their service life ranges from five hours to a thousand or more. For example, aircraft headlights are designed for a short time, but transport ones can work for a very long time. In the latter case, they should be installed in locations that allow easy replacement. Today, the luminous efficiency of lamps depends on voltage, design, burning time and power. It is about 10-35 lm/W.
Incandescent lamps today
Incandescent lamps, in terms of their luminous efficiency, are certainly inferior to light sources powered by gas (fluorescent lamp). However, they are easier to use. Incandescent lamps do not require complex fittings or starting devices. There are practically no restrictions on power and voltage for them. The world today produces about 10 billion lamps every year. And the number of their varieties exceeds 2 thousand.
LED bulbs
The history of the origin of the lamp has already been written, while the history of the development of this invention has not yet been completed. New varieties are appearing and becoming increasingly popular. It's about first of all about LED lamps ah (one of them is shown in the photo above). They are also known as energy saving. These lamps have a light output that is more than 10 times greater than that of incandescent lamps. However, they have a drawback - the power source must be low voltage.
Some are sure that the light bulb was invented by Pavel Yablochkov, others argue that it appeared thanks to the genius of another Russian inventor - Lodygin, others say that the main credit for the invention of this useful thing belongs to the German chemist Auer, who lived in the 18th century.
As for Yablochkov, he created the arc lamp, and Edison created the incandescent light bulb, which we still use today. But Lodygin could well argue with Mr. Edison about priorities. He actually invented the incandescent lamp in 1872, for which the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences awarded him the Lomonosov Prize. And the first patent for an incandescent light bulb belonged to Lodygin. However, he was never able to put his invention on an industrial footing.
But Auer did not invent any lamps at all. This was not part of his task. It’s just that one day he conducted a series of experiments on the oxidation of various substances - he applied them to a small piece of fabric and placed them in the flame of a burner. Checking the next connection, Auer discovered that the fabric was not burned through, but only heated and glowing with a bright orange light. The principle of using a hot object as a light source formed the basis first of oil and kerosene lamps, and then of incandescent light bulbs. Therefore, it would be more correct to say that Edison did not invent the light bulb, but only improved the developments that existed before him. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, even the socket for light bulbs was invented not by Edison, but by his employee Sterizher, and the socket and plug were again the merit of Lodygin. Yes and best material for incandescent filaments, tungsten was also proposed by Lodygin (Edison used ordinary sewing threads coated with charcoal for this purpose, which burned for no more than 40 hours).
But despite everything, it would be absurd to deny Edison’s merits in the electrification of humanity. After all, it was he who gave us the light bulb, having put a lot of effort into it. Today it seems strange, but the light bulb was initially met with hostility. What objections have been raised against its use! At the end of the 19th century. opponents of using electricity in everyday life gave various arguments in favor of kerosene and gas lamps. Some, for example, believed that the use of light bulbs was problematic until tools such as a needle for cleaning the nozzle and a brush for removing soot from the lamp glass were developed. Others believed that a standard kerosene lamp could do everything an electric lamp could do and much more. In addition, electric light had to compete in price, brightness and convenience with a gas burner.
Therefore, Edison, before starting to manufacture a light bulb, had to study the gas industry in detail. On paper, he developed a plan for a central power station and a diagram of radial lines to houses and factories. Then he calculated the cost of copper and other materials that would be needed to make lamps and generate electricity using steam-driven dynamos. Analysis of these figures determined not only the size of the lamp, but also its price, which was 40 cents.
And so in 1879, on special trains ordered by Edison, three thousand people arrived to look at the hundreds of electric light bulbs that burned in his workshop and on the surrounding roads; energy was supplied to them from a central dynamo through underground wires. This demonstration was followed by a sharp decline in the shares of gas companies... Edison then began making dynamos, cables, light bulbs and lighting fixtures. And, in the end, the light bulb conquered the world.
Fact No. 1: among the lamps there are long-livers
As you know, incandescent light bulbs do not last long. However, there are long-livers among them. So, in the town of Livermore in California, at the fire station there is an ordinary light bulb that has been working continuously (more precisely, with short breaks) for 115 years. It was first turned on in the summer of 1901. The light bulb is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as longest lasting light bulb. General Electric confirmed this fact with a specially conducted technical audit.
"Century Light Bulb" or the “Livermore light bulb,” as people call it, burns continuously at low power (4 Watts), in a deep dark, with a very low efficiency. It was originally used for night lighting and changed its location a couple of times. Last time in 1976, for which it was turned off for 22 minutes.
The Livermore-Pesanton Fire Station has no plans to replace its famous light bulb. Despite the fact that the benefit of the light bulb is minimal, it became famous, thus making the ordinary town of Livermore famous throughout the world. Excursions are organized at the fire station, and many people visit the light bulb. A webcam is pointed at her 24/7. A website and museum have been created for the Livermore Light Bulb.
The light bulb's hundredth birthday was celebrated in 2001 with a large event with a barbecue and live music. Three bands played music from the fifties and early twentieth century. Residents of the town of Livermore, which suddenly gained popularity thanks to the light bulb, decided to celebrate her birthday with city holidays.
Livermore light bulb took part in a film about planned obsolescence and collusion among manufacturers. At the dawn of capitalism, engineers really tried to design high-quality and durable consumer goods, and they succeeded until they were prohibited from doing so by factory owners who were interested in making light bulbs burn out more often and, accordingly, so that they could be sold more. Therefore, now there are no longer such long-lasting light bulbs. Similar modern lamps incandescent bulbs work for about a thousand hours, and this is considered the norm.
When the Livermore light bulb eventually burns out, it will not be thrown into a landfill. The Ripley Museum is first in line for the remains of the longest-lived light bulb in human history.
Fact #2: Light bulb trial
The introduction of scientific and technological achievements into everyday practice often faced such opposition that advocates of the new sometimes had to use the form of a trial with prosecutors, defenders and judges to prove the advantages of the new technology.
Surprisingly, the fact that with the help of a trial had to be proven to the general public, it would seem, obvious advantages electric lighting.To this end, in March 1879, the English Parliament established a commission that was supposed to put an end to the rumors and ridiculous rumors spread by opponents of electricity - gas companies.The commission had significant powers: it had the right to call all the witnesses it considered necessary, and on the same rights with which the court calls them. The inquiry was carried out in the same way as a judicial investigation. The defendant was electricity.
Witnesses gave evidence regarding his properties and actions, and stenographers recorded them. Members of the commission occupied the judge's seats. The evidence table was filled with various electrical appliances, with which experiments were immediately carried out. The walls were covered with drawings and diagrams.
The arguments of the prosecution witnesses were as follows. According to the artists, electric light is “cold and has little expression.” English ladies found that it gave “a certain deadness to the face and, in addition, made it difficult to choose clothes, since costumes illuminated by electric light seemed different than in evening light.”Traders at the Billingsset market complained that “the electric light gives the fish a bad look and asked to remove the lighting they had installed.” Many complained of pain in their eyes and flickering lights. Defense witnesses patiently explained that one should look not at the lanterns, but at the objects illuminated by them, that looking directly at the sun is even more painful, but no one blames the sunlight for this. That the deadness of the face is noticed only “when gas light is mixed with electric light.” That the “blinking” of the arc in lamps is caused by poorly manufactured electrodes. Etc. and so on.
In its verdict, the commission decided that electric light had left the field of experiments and trials and should be given the opportunity to compete with gas lighting. The commission prohibited the transfer of electric lighting to gas companies, “as incompetent in matters of electrical engineering.”
As for efficiency, electrical engineering still had a long way to go - to the creation of central power stations, power lines and distribution devices.
Fact #3: the most powerful source of artificial light
The most powerful source constant light is a high-pressure argon arc lamp with a power consumption of 313 kW and a luminous intensity of 1.2 million candelas, manufactured by Vortec Industries in Vancouver (Canada) in March 1984.
The most powerful spotlight was produced during the Second World War, in 1939...1945, by General Electric. It was developed at the Hearst Research Center (London, England). With power consumption in 600 kW it gave an arc brightness of 46"500 cd/cm2 and a maximum beam intensity of 2.7 million candelas from a parabolic mirror with a diameter of 3.04 m.
Fact #4: The efficiency of an incandescent lamp is only 5%
At the dawn of the appearance of incandescent lamps, before the start of their mass production, it was found that at a temperature of 3400K the efficiency of a 60 W lamp is maximum - 15%, p At the same time, the lamp burns for only a few hours. P At a temperature of 2700K, efficiency = 5%, burning time is about 1000 hours. Therefore, incandescent lamp manufacturers had to choose between efficiency and lamp burn time. And now the generally accepted standard for an incandescent lamp is a temperature of 2700K with an efficiency of 5% and a burning time of about 1000 hours. This means that the lamp converts only 5% of the total electrical energy consumed into light energy. And the remaining 95% goes into thermal energy! In essence, an incandescent lamp is more of a heat device than a light source.
Fact No. 5: The brightness of an incandescent lamp is highly dependent on the network voltage
Previously, in Russia the mains voltage standard of 220 volts was mainly used. Since 2005, according to GOST, the network must have a voltage of 230 V ±10%, that is, from 207 to 253 volts. The old 220 V standard falls into this range, so in fact no one did anything with the old equipment - most of the sockets in our country were 220 and remain so.
The luminous flux of a conventional incandescent light bulb was measured at different voltages, setting them using LATR. A 230V 60W matte lamp was used for the experiment. Osram CLAS A FR60 230V E27, on the packaging of which the value is indicated luminous flux 710 lm.
Below is a graph of the obtained measurements of the luminous flux of a 60-watt lamp at different voltages:
As follows from the data obtained, when the rated voltage of 230 V changes by 10% in both directions, the luminous flux of this lamp changes by more than 30%! At the minimum permissible voltage according to GOST 207 V, the luminous flux already corresponds to a 40-watt lamp. And even at a normal voltage of 230 V, the lamp does not produce the luminous flux stated in the specifications. Let us remind you that this is an OSRAM lamp (Germany). What can we say about our domestic light bulbs...
It is worth noting that LED lamps do not suffer from this dependence. They provide a constant luminous flux when the supply voltage varies over a very wide range. The whole secret is that the design of LED lamps includes a miniature power driver, which is a stabilizing element.
Fact No. 6: you can light a 60-watt lamp wirelessly at a distance of several meters from the source
To transmit 60 watts of electricity over a distance of more than two meters (at a household voltage of 220 V), you have to use copper magnetic devices 60 centimeters in diameter. Reducing their dimensions is only possible with the use of more expensive conductive materials. This is precisely the experiment recently carried out by the processor giant Intel.
Using the phenomenon of magnetic resonance, the Zeeman effect and special catching antennas (all “innovations” were invented back in the 19th century), Associate Professor of the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Marin Solyacic, together with his colleagues and students, was ABLE TO LIGHT A 60-WAT ELECTRIC LAMP WHILE LOCATED A FEW METERS FROM THE SOURCE (this energy transfer technology is called WiTricity). Copper coils tuned to the same frequency were “screwed” to the source and receiver. One of them (the source) was connected to the outlet, and the other captured the energy, even when there was a thin paper fence between the devices. The resonating frequency of the coils is only 10 MHz.
Fact No. 7: a lamp burning under a power line
In the city of Krasnogorsk near Moscow, there is a section of a high-voltage 500-kilovolt power line where the wires sag very much. So strong that it is simply scary to walk under them: the distance to them from the ground is only about 5 meters. When riding a bicycle, the handlebars give you a strong electric shock, and only a crazy person would dare to walk in the rain with an umbrella in those places. Moreover, the wires are not located in a vacant lot, but right in a residential area. Nearby are houses and a hospital.
But this is not about sanitary standards, but about physics. The fact is that power lines create a fairly strong electric field, which, in combination with low-hanging wires, can give an interesting effect: a fluorescent lamp burns without any wires or other tricks under the power line. The lamp is very ordinary, exactly the same ones are used for lighting in offices. The lamp burns not only on the ground, but also simply in the air, as well as in the hands.
Why does the lamp glow? Due to the tension at its ends, which in turn arises due to electromagnetic field, created by power lines. The electrostatic potential on the wires is very high, and the potential on the ground is known to be zero. In other words, there is a potential difference, or voltage, between the wires and the ground. And at the ends of the lamp there is also a potential difference, because one of the ends of a vertical lamp is always closer to the wires, and the second is further from them or is on the ground.
But this potential difference is still small enough to produce a current of such strength that it would pose a danger to humans. And since the current is so weak, it shouldn’t even light the lamp. Besides, fluorescent lamps They are not so simple: there are special starters inside that ignite it in a special way. Why is the lamp on?
Because such lamps, in principle, burn for other reasons. Instead of a red-hot tungsten arc, there are mercury vapors inside the glass tube, which create ultraviolet radiation (converted into visible light by a white phosphor on the glass) due to voltage, but not at the ends of the lamp, but throughout its entire length, that is, both at the contacts and at the mercury itself. The field under the power line creates a potential difference across the mercury vapor inside the lamp, causing it to glow. Therefore, a starter is not needed to glow, therefore ordinary incandescent lamps do not glow under power lines and therefore a person is not killed by an electric shock. It’s just that the observed effect is based on a slightly different nature.
The lamp glows very strongly if you stick it into the ground, a little weaker if you hold it vertically in your hands, and even weaker if you hold it horizontally. The reason is different voltage on a lamp: the end stuck into the ground provides an instant path for current to flow, and the vertical position creates a large potential difference due to different distances from the ends of the lamp to the wires.