Lighting Advancments Essay Research Paper Have you

Lighting Advancments Essay, Research Paper

Have you wondered why streetlights are yellow, or why the year 2000 cars have brighter headlights and they are a different color. Have you ever wondered how the indiglo light on your watch works, or why it glows green and not white. And did you know that same indiglo light can be used while frozen, dipped in water, bent in half, stepped on, or in hazardous environments. Lighting has changed over the last few years; there are advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of lighting.

Lighting has been around since time itself existed; the first kind of lighting was fire. Fire was used to warm the inhabitants, and to provide light; many primitive cultures would use burning torches to provide light for their excursions and pathways. Fire was the only true form of light they had other than the moon. Fire had many disadvantages, one was that fire depended on fuel and needed proper conditions to operate (no rain, minimal wind). Another disadvantage is that fire, if not handled properly, could result in a brush fire or even burn down their shelter. An advantage was it was efficient when conditions were correct. It provided an inexpensive form of lighting, and could be used for cooking and heating. Due to the persistent problem of limited fuel, inhabitants looked for a way to prolong the fuel. (Thwig 29-34)

The next step in lighting that followed was a candle. Candles offered one main advantage over the fire by itself, fuel. A candle was able to provide a long burning light and was relatively inexpensive to produce. Candles were originally made from whale fat. The flame would burn and would slowly use the wick as a fuel and would burn much slower because the wax slowed the burning down. (Thwig 35-49)

The next form of lighting that followed the candle was the oil lamp. The oil for the lamps was also made from whales. The oil was the primary fuel for the fire, it burned even longer than a candle, and was cleaner. The wick was submerged in oil with one side sticking out. The oil would travel up the wick to the exposed portion. When lit the wick would be saturated with oil and the fire would burn the oil on the wick. This form of lighting was a large improvement, many cites adapted to this technology. Cities would create streetlights from the lamps and they would be lit on a nightly bases. The light would illuminate the streets and provide for a safer community. The lamps were also used in homes and offices to provide light and allow for work at night. The candle and oil based lamps still had many downfalls. One problem was that the application still used fire as the source of light. The fire would omit carbon monoxide and always posed a threat if the fire was not watched closely. The oil-based lamps could fall over and would create a large fire by igniting all the oil at once, burning everything flammable around the lamp. (Hayward 23-25)

The next form of lighting was the incandescent lighting, more commonly known as a light bulb, which depended on electricity.

Thomas Alva Edison devoted all his adult life to science. Once Thomas Edison had enough money to be comfortable, he opened a laboratory in New Jersey. He then hired a team of scientists and gave them everything they needed to work; their job was to dream up new inventions . October 21, 1929 was the fiftieth anniversary of Edison s invention of the electric light. (Louis 46-48)

The electric light was a huge scientific discovery. The electric light offered a safer, non-fire based source of light. The lighting was dependent on no fuel (other then electricity) and was widely available for purchase or replacement. The light was also brighter and was more efficient than the previous forms of lighting. Currently, we still use incandescent lights, but our bulbs are far more advanced than its predecessors. (Louis 48-49)

Humans are now dependent on lighting and could not continue with out it in many cases. Light bulbs have become far more advanced in 1990, because of specialty bulbs, which are available to the general public. The bulbs come in a wide variety of colors and offer many unique options. Some of these options are, self-dimming lights, timed lights, even pure white lights. Pure white lights have a special coating, which offer a clean white light, instead of the standard yellowish light, which is most common. ( Ligthing F.A.Q. )

Another relatively new form of lighting is a halogen bulb. Halogen bulbs offer a brighter light than conventional lighting. These bulbs run much hotter than other kinds of lights.( Hubble Lighting )

Halogen bulbs can be used to light art work or special areas. The reason that these bulbs can be used for many different applications is because they can be aimed and the wattage varies from bulb to bulb depending on your application. (Neitzke)

Halogen bulbs are also used in the newer cars. New cars use halogen bulbs because they are twenty percent brighter. Another advantage of these lights is than are much easier to focus than an incandescent bulb because they have a very reflective backing and a lens is used to focus the light. Halogen bulbs produce whiter light than incandescent bulbs and use about the same amount of electricity. (Neitzke)

There are many kinds of lights that are used only in special situations; one of these kinds of lights is a street lamp. Origina