Electric light

Electric lights make light from power.

They help us see in the dark. Most lights use a base. The base holds the bulb in place. Some bulbs use a tiny wire. This wire gets very hot. Then it glows to make light.

Other lights use gas to glow. Some use small parts to make light. These new lights use very little power. They stay bright for a long time. This is very helpful for us.

Do you like bright lights?

Electric lights make light from electricity.

They are the most common way to light our homes. Most lamps have a base. This base holds the bulb in a socket.

There are three main types of electric lights. First are incandescent lamps. These use a thin wire called a filament. The electricity heats the filament until it glows white-hot. This type uses a lot of power. Most of that power turns into heat instead of light.

Second are gas-discharge lamps. These use an electric arc through a gas. A common type is the fluorescent lamp. These use a glass tube with gas inside. The gas gives off energy that makes the tube glow.

Third are LED lamps. LED stands for light-emitting diode. These make light by moving electrons across a tiny part. This part is called a semiconductor. LEDs use very little power. They can last for a very long time.

Many people use them now to save energy.

Electric lights are devices that turn electricity into light. They are the most common way people light up their homes today. Most lamps have a base made of metal, glass, or plastic. This base helps the bulb stay safe in a socket.

Some bases use a screw-thread to stay in place. Others use metal pins or a bayonet mount. Most lights get power from a central electric system. However, some use batteries or small generators.

There are three main ways these lights work. Incandescent lamps use a thin wire called a filament. When electricity flows through it, the filament gets white-hot and glows.

Gas-discharge lamps work differently. They use an electric arc through a gas, like in fluorescent tubes.

Finally, LED lamps use a semiconductor. This is a special material that makes light when electrons flow across a gap. LEDs are very efficient and use very little power.

People used candles and oil lamps long before electric lights. In 1799, Alessandro Volta made the first electric battery. This was called a voltaic pile. In 1806, Humphry Davy showed how an arc light could work.

Later, in 1840, Warren de la Rue made an early bulb using platinum. It worked well but cost too much money. In the late 1870s, Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison both made working bulbs. They eventually joined together to form one company.

Many clever inventors helped improve how bulbs work. In 1912, William D. Coolidge patented the tungsten filament. This became a standard for many years. In 1910, Georges Claude created the first neon light.

Later, in 1934, a team at General Electric built a prototype fluorescent lamp. This took a lot of hard work and testing. The first practical LED arrived in 1962. It was only deep red at first. In 1994, Shuji Nakamura showed the first bright blue LED. This helped scientists finally make white LED light.

Today, we use many different types of lighting. Incandescent bulbs are being replaced because they waste a lot of energy as heat. Only 2% to 5% of their energy becomes light.

Fluorescent lamps are much more efficient than old bulbs. They use about one-quarter of the power. LEDs are now used for car headlights and even holiday lights. In 2009, Philips made the first LED bulbs for home use. These help save energy and last a long time.

An electric light is an electrical device that produces light from electricity. It is the most common way humans create artificial lighting today. Most lamps feature a base made of metal, ceramic, glass, or plastic. This base secures the lamp into the socket of a light fixture. Connections to these sockets often use a screw-thread base or two metal pins. Other designs use metal caps or a bayonet mount to stay in place.

There are three main categories of electric lights used in modern technology. The first type is the incandescent lamp. These produce light by heating a filament until it becomes white-hot from an electric current. The second type is the gas-discharge lamp. These create light through an electric arc passing through a gas, such as in fluorescent lamps. The third type is the LED lamp. These use a semiconductor to produce light as electrons flow across a band gap.

Incandescent lamps work by using a coiled tungsten filament inside a glass chamber. This chamber is either a vacuum or filled with an inert gas like argon. When electricity flows, the tungsten glows and emits a continuous spectrum of light. However, these bulbs are highly inefficient. Only 2% to 5% of the energy consumed is turned into visible light. The remaining 95% of the energy is lost as heat.

Gas-discharge lamps offer a more efficient alternative. Fluorescent lamps consist of a glass tube containing mercury vapor or argon under low pressure. Electricity flowing through the tube causes these gases to release ultraviolet energy. The inside of the tube is coated with phosphors. These phosphors emit visible light when they are struck by ultraviolet photons. These systems are much more efficient than incandescent bulbs. They typically use only one-quarter to one-third the power for the same amount of light.

LED technology has changed lighting significantly since its early stages. The first practical LED arrived in 1962, but it could only display deep red colors. It was not efficient enough for general lighting at that time. In 1994, Shuji Nakamura demonstrated the first high-brightness blue LED. This discovery allowed for the creation of the first white LED. Scientists achieved this by using a phosphor coating to convert blue light into lower frequencies. Today, LEDs are used in everything from car headlights to holiday lights.

The history of electric light involves many important inventors and discoveries. In 1799, Alessandro Volta created the voltaic pile, which was the first electric battery. In 1806, Humphry Davy gave a practical demonstration of an arc light. Earlier, in 1840, Warren de la Rue created a bulb using a platinum coil in a vacuum. While efficient, the high cost of platinum made it impractical for everyone to use. In the late 1870s, Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison independently developed functional incandescent lamps. Their rivalry eventually led to a merger called the Edison and Swan Electric Light Company.

Further improvements continued throughout the 20th century. In 1912, William D. Coolidge patented the tungsten filament, which became a long-standing standard. In 1934, a team led by George E. Inman built a prototype fluorescent lamp at General Electric. This required intense experimentation with gas pressures and cathode construction. In 2009, Philips introduced the first LED lamps designed to replace standard 60 W screw-in bulbs. This helped drive a global phase-out of inefficient incandescent bulbs. In the United States, electricity usage decreased for five straight years by 2019 due to these changes.