The History Of Light

The I HISTORY 1 OF LIGHT From the strike of a match to the flick of a switch, how we light our lives has drastically changed over the past few millennia. New innovations are happening every day and light is playing a larger part in our everyday lives, without us even knowing! BUT HOW EXACTLY DID WE GET HERE? The Primitive Lamp 13,000 BC Cavemen used shells or hollow rocks to light their caves. They The Jnsect Lamp filled them with moss soaked in Fireflies were used in countries animal fat and ignited the moss to create a lamp. such as South America and Japan as a source of natural and renewable light. The flies were captured and enclosed in a small cage and used as a lamp. 5,000 BC Animal Fat Lamp Fats and oils from fish, olives, nuts and sesame seeds were used to burn and create light. This meant that lamps were only used by the wealthy, as the poor would simply eat the fat and consume the oil. Lumen 5,000 is the unit that BC describes the amount of visible light emitted by the source. Use Op Candles Pottery Lamp 600 Basic early candles were used around 300BC in china. Only the wealthy had the luxury of using plant oils and beeswax. The poor had to settle for animal fats that BC With the growing pottery industry, the ancient Greeks produced pottery lamps in large numbers and at little cost. This meant for the first time, light was readily available to both the rich and poor. were smelly and produced soot. Due to steady burning, candles were also used as timing devices. 300 BC First Lighthouse Watt is the unit that The Pharos Lighthouse of measures the Alexandria was a 137meter tall lighthouse in Egypt and one of the even ancient wonders of the rate of energy conversion or world. The large burning torch lit the way for trade ships coming in and out of the harbor. transfer. 280 BC First Electric Lamp 1801 The Carbon Arc Light, invented by Sir Humphrey Davy, was the first electric bulb. It was noisy, Jncandescent Bulb The Incandescent bulb was invented by Sir Joseph Swan, alongside the concurrent efforts of his American counterpart, Thomas Edison. They joined and the carbon was harmful. Two rods of carbon were hooked up to a source of electricity and when mixed with evaporating carbon, emitted strong white light. forces to form the Edison & Swan United Electric Company and gave the world it's first mass produced light bulb. 1880 On average, a fifth of a household's OPEN Light-Emilling Diode (LED) electricity bill Neon Lights goes on Heinrich Geißler and Daniel lighting. In 1927 Oleg Losev published original research Between 1962-1994 the basic Red, Blue & Green LEDS were invented paving the way for simulated white light. They're now widely used for signage and decorating your Christmas trees! McFarlan Moore both invented LEDS. variations of gas filled neon Inspired predecessors, French inventor Georges Claude produced the first neon lights for commercial use. His invention can now be on tubes. by his 1926 1927- 1994 seen in every shop window! The FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT Smart lighting technology will Environmentally friendly solar Scientists have learned how to enable lighting to be adjusted panels will be used to power bind photons together to form automatically depending on the street lights that also save 'solid light'. To the delight of surroundings or even your energy by activating only during Star Wars fans worldwide, this mood and could reduce energy low light levels or when motion means Lightsabers are now a use by 80%. is detected. possibility! Sources http://www.ies.org/lighting/history/timeline-of-lighting.cfm http://www.effe.in/ledlights/basics-of-light.php http://www.mts.net/-william5/history/hol.htm http://inventors.about.com/od/Istartinventions/a/lighting 2.htm http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/stories/lightsabers-could-become-reality-after-incredible-physics http://www.cse.org.uk/advice/advice-and-support/how-much-electricity-am-i-using http://www.ies.org/lighting/science/ MMA LIGHTING CONSULTANCY