The practical incandescent, electric light bulb is celebrating its 125th anniversary. Contrary to popular belief, Edison did not invent the light bulb, but rather improved upon it. In 1879, using lower current electricity, a small carbonized filament & improved vacuum inside the globe, he produced a reliable long-lasting source of light that completed a 40h duration test. Edison was granted his main lamp patent, No 223,898 in 1880, & soon adopted carbonized bamboo filaments which increased their rated life to 600h. In 1890, he established the first incandescent lamp factory at Menlo Park, NJ. General Electric Co shares a history with Edison. GE was formed in 1892 when Edison Electric Co & Thomson-Houston Co Merged. Little did Edison know that his light bulb that lasted only 40h would grow into products like GE Reveal, selling 170M bulbs since 2001.
