"Then God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. (Genesis 1-3)" This is the way most of us in the United States feel about the electric light bulb. We take it for granted that we have light every time we want it. This paper will also look at how the light bulb has impacted our America along with the creative process that led Thomas Edison to the one invention that altered the history of our country forever. The light bulb is arguably the single most important invention in American history that still has an effect on us today.
The electric light bulb is the single most important invention of our culture. This one little light bulb influences our entire day, from how late we can work, to factories increasing production, even to sleep deprivation. The light bulb is the basis our this hi-tech culture that we live in, not just the electric light but its offspring have created a world of marvelous technology that gives us tools to do everyday things that people 50 years ago would thought subjects for a science fiction novel. Businesses use the electric light or a product from it to carry on business every day. Before people could only work by sunlight or a candle. Both of which are very uncomfortable to work with, the sunlight has to enter from a window and a large factory would have problem supplying enough light via windows to allow effective use of all available work time. Candles are the same way, one must be very close to the flame to receive any light from it that is acceptable to do any work. So the advantages for business owners and factory owners is that their workers can work more productive because they have better lighting. It also allows for employees to stay later and work overtime without have to use candles. But for the average home owner at that time in history the electric light was not of great importance. Now if there is a storm and the electricity is knocked out we find out how important light and electricity are to us. There is an odd twist on the electric light, it seems to have a habit of resetting the human biological clock. This study is from Charles Czeisler, a neurobiologist at Harvard Medical School. He said that "Edison has probably done more for the coffee industry than any other person who has ever lived." "It seems that by reading or watching televison long periods of time after sundown, humans substantially slow down the ticking of their clocks (US News & World Report 20)." So in other words it places the person in a constant state of jet lag. Which reduces the person productivity at the workplace at other activities. It seems that lights allow use to stay up longer but maybe they effect us in other adverse ways that we are not aware of. The creative process in which Edison created his invention was by using his logic and common since, but his logic was extraordinary (Omni 85).
Edison's idea of creativity is working 112 to 115 hours a week. This man napped on his lab table when he was sleepy and ate when he was hungry. He said "Creativity is 99% sweat and 1% inspiration". This was is motive as one could see by looking at the hours he worked. We give Edison total credit for the invention of many things but as it seems he was not this way at all. "Collaboration was vital to Edison's creative process (Omni 103)." Actually Edison was usually working in a highly collaborative environment. He even institutionalized collaboration by developing an independent research laboratory. Edison was in love with the problem-solving process that produced new technology. Edison did not just want to make improvement but on isolated systems he wanted to invent whole new systems. This was his idea of creativity not just having a stroke of genius, he knew that hard work would be the key to unlocking the mysteries of nature.
The question might be asked "where is the electric light going?" and it would be answered with a Lifetime bulb and the Sulfur bulb. The Lifetime bulb is a light produced by Enterprise Systems and Associates of Richmond, Va. They claim that there bulb can go without a change for 135,000 hours or 100 years of normal household use. The secret is that the bulb is fortified with extra filament to withstand jolts better, a high concentration of krypton gas to maintain brightness, and a device which transforms the alternating current entering the bulb into a direct current to conserve power. One bright light is what the sulfur bulb is. It is no larger that a tootsie-pop but one 5,900 watt bulb generates the same amount of light as hundreds of today's industrial high-intensity mercury-vapor lamps while using 20 to 30 percent less energy.
The electric light bulb has done more for this country than any other single invention in our history. It's effects were felt across the board, from businesses to home owners, from factory employees to the robber-barons of the giant corporations. Many people benefitted from this invention but none more than the CEO's of the corporations that had a monopoly on this market. Not until just a decade ago did the consumer begin to receive some of the benefits through competition. Now the industry of electric light will return to the original vision of it's inventor.
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DiChristina, Mariette. "Bright light, small bulb." Popular Science. (Feb 1995) :40. Proquest General Periodical. CD-ROM. UMI-Proquest.
Coy, Peter. "This bulb is Brighter-and Easier on the Eye." Business Week. (Sep 16, 1996) :111 Proquest General Periodical. CD-ROM. UMI-Proquest.
Briggs, John. "Reese Jenkins." Omni. (Apr 1989) :82-87. Proquest General Periodicals. CD-ROMS. UMI-Proquest.
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