The Electric Light Bulb Was Invented Centuries Before Edison

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Published 2023-11-10

All Comments (21)

@SciShow 6 months ago

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@joshuagrahm3607 6 months ago

We should really split it up into “who first explained the theory” and “who got it viable commercially” because honestly, they’re both really impressive accomplishments
@Rubrickety 6 months ago

I've watched a lot of math and science videos, and various Bernoullis come up all the time (they were a whole thing), and yet I think this is the first time I've ever heard a non-Anglicized pronunciation of the name. Kudos!
@Anuchan 6 months ago

I was taught in school that Edison's contribution was using tungsten, the only substance known for years that could glow bright enough and long enough for practical use. His attempts of over 200 substances is a testament to dedication. This is even mentioned in the movie National Treasure.
@enigma1863 6 months ago

Edison was like the Steve Jobs of his day. Not inventing anything himself but making inventions marketable to the masses
@heronimousbrapson863 6 months ago

In the UK, it is asserted that Joseph Swan invented the light bulb. Edison, apparently, bought the patent for the idea from a Canadian inventor who didn't have the money to develop it himself.
@General12th 6 months ago

Hi Reid! This was a really cool story! I never knew about barometric lighting.
@Mike28625 6 months ago

As an electric guitar player who loves his tube amps, i owe a debt of gratitude to these old scientists. Classic mercury tubes are still on the cutting edge of musical technology but obsolete everywhere else lol.
@SamChaneyProductions 6 months ago

Very cool though I wish you had mentioned that mercury vapor glows with ultraviolet light when excited by electricity and that is how fluorescent lights and neon signs work (the red-orange tubes use neon but all the other colors use mercury vapor)
@Dx-Dm 6 months ago

I love the way you described this piece of science history :) great job!
@jaybingham3711 6 months ago

Fantastic presentation. Concise. Informative. Kudos.
@TheRealSkeletor 6 months ago

Okay, but did anyone ask Picard how many lights he saw?
@barrydysert2974 6 months ago

🏅 The best thing i've ever seen from this channel! More on electric topics please !:-)⚡
@Kennephone 6 months ago

I've never heard of this before, I always thought that the arc light was the first electric light. I guess it's just the first practical* one.
@marijandesin8226 6 months ago

This is why I'm still subscribed More science history please 👏👏
@MosaicF 6 months ago

Who wants to see a Nile Red episode of him making a barometric light?
@mdjohar 6 months ago

Good one. Thanks
@rab52764 6 months ago

No, Edison did not invent the incandescent light bulb, but he did perfect it.
@reynastrange2828 6 months ago

I’m very impressed and this very cool, but I’m concerned about how much mercury was handled in these early light bulbs (assuming that they did not protect themselves from the mercury)
@bbbenj 6 months ago

I didn't know about that, thanks 👍