Though Thomas Edison is usually cited as the father of the light bulb, it's more accurate to give Edison credit as the creator of the first commercially viable light bulb. As early as 1820, inventors were honing in on the principles that would lead to the first electric illumination.
An English inventor, Joseph Swan, took their early work and developed the basis of the modern electric light bulb in 1879 — a thin paper or metal filament surrounded by a glass-enclosed vacuum. When electricity runs through the filament, the light bulb glows.
Edison refined the design, trying filaments made out of platinum and cotton before eventually settling on carbonized bamboo, capable of burning for more than 1200 hours. With Edison's design — and settlement of a lawsuit with Swan that resulted in the two inventors joining forces in 1883 — electric lighting became viable for the first time.
Incandescent Bulb Banned in EuropeEuropeans bid farewell to the 100 watt bulbs today. From now on, Edison's brainchild can no longer be legally made in, or imported into, the European Union, thanks to a European Union-wide ban which kicks off today.
Shed a tear, but don't let your sentimentality tempt you into smuggling one into the EU under your jumper: you'll be hit with a £5,000 fine. That's the price for individuals caught transgressing the ban but companies will face unlimited fines.
The EU hopes that the ban on incandescent light bulbs will force businesses and consumers to invest in low-carbon Light Emitting Diodes and Compact Fluorescent Lamps, which use up to 80 per cent less energy.
The ban could save the EU anywhere from 15 to 53 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, says Matt Prescott, founder of the Ban the Bulb campaign.
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