Who invented carbon filament for light bulbs

By Reuters Fact Check. A widely shared post on social media says Thomas Edison did not invent the lightbulb but stole it from a Black man called Lewis Latimer. Latimer made a major contribution to the development of electric lighting by inventing a longer-lasting filament. But he did not invent the lightbulb. Thomas Edison is regularly identified as the inventor, though that claim is itself often challenged.

President Joe Biden echoed the message at a community meeting in Kenosha, Wisconsin on the campaign trail on Sept. Lewis Latimer was an African-American inventor, electrical pioneer and patent expert lewislatimerhouse. The design was based on the concept that the high melting point of platinum would allow it to operate at high temperatures and that the evacuated chamber would contain fewer gas molecules to react with the platinum, improving its longevity.

Although an efficient design, the cost of the platinum made it impractical for commercial production. And by he had a working prototype, but the lack of a good vacuum and an adequate supply of electricity resulted in a bulb whose lifetime was much too short to be considered an effective prodcer of light.

In , Swan developed a longer lasting light bulb using a treated cotton thread that also removed the problem of early bulb blackening. They built their lamps with different sizes and shapes of carbon rods held between electrodes in glass cylinders filled with nitrogen.

Woodward and Evans attempted to commercialize their lamp, but were unsuccessful. They eventually sold their patent to Edison in In , Thomas Edison began serious research into developing a practical incandescent lamp and on October 14, , Edison filed his first patent application for "Improvement In Electric Lights". However, he continued to test several types of material for metal filaments to improve upon his original design and by Nov 4, , he filed another U. Although the patent described several ways of creating the carbon filament including using "cotton and linen thread, wood splints, papers coiled in various ways," it was not until several months after the patent was granted that Edison and his team discovered that a carbonized bamboo filament could last over hours.

The remaining energy is lost as heat. However these inefficient light bulbs are still widely used today due to many advantages such as:. Cricket Media Articles. Invention Activities. For Educators InvenTeam Grants. Professional Development. For Inventors Inventor Handbook. Collegiate Invention Competitions. Other Team Access Login.