The need for light has been around since the dawn of time. There was fire, then the ability to control fire with simple things like torches and candles. Later came the oil lamp until the emergence of mining and coal changed the industry. Next came the race for filament bulb lighting that could be used commercially and in homes. After the basic bulbs were introduced to the bulb, innovations were still occurring that lead to the invention of neon, florescent and LED lights (John Bessant, 2011). In the late eighteenth century, Humphrey Davy introduced the carbon arc lamp which changed the lighting industry in a few ways; it made mining safer, it supported the idea of domestic illumination starting the gas lighting era, and it sparked innovations such as the first street lamp in Cleveland, Ohio (John Bessant, 2011). These innovations created a radical change, creating the discontinued use of illuminates such as oil lamps. The next large change came about when Thomas Edison and Joseph Swann started researching the possibility of incandescent filament light bulbs and patenting their ideas (John Bessant, 2011). While it is accepted that Edison was not the first inventor to create the light bulb it is argued that he created the first viable, long lasting bulb that could be sold for domestic use by using bamboo as a filament in commercial lamps (Electric Lamp, 2014). These commercial light bulbs created a radical change towards a well-established industry with some big names that we still see today such as General Electric (GE) and Philips (John Bessant, 2011). Once the filament bulb became widely accepted and used commonly in every home, incremental changes were seen throughout the industry due to innovations with different kinds of gasses. The emergence of the fluorescent bulb and LED lights came about by the need for cheaper energy that lasted for longer periods of time. The fluorescent light quickly solved that problem, not burning out for long periods of times and being significantly cheaper to light when compared to typical filament bulbs, and quickly became seen in office buildings and businesses (John Bessant, 2011). The LED light also came about and was quickly put into house hold appliances and electronics because they can last up to 11 years and are very cheap, almost insignificant to light. Innovations are still being made in the LED industry and they are making incremental changes in the industry, though this might quickly change with a new big innovation that radically changes the use of filament bulbs to LED lighting. Neon lighting was created and was quickly used to create signs and lighting for businesses. These neon lights will not replace old technology such as filament bulbs but they have made an incremental change to the lighting industry. Bibliography
Electric Lamp. (2014, September 15). Retrieved from The Thomas Edison Papers: http://edison.rutgers.edu/lamp.htm
John Bessant, J. T. (2011). Innovation and Entrepreneurship. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.