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Who invented the light bulb?
April 27, 2007 09:49 IST
Lights & lamps

Tube light is a slang used to describe nitwits. We are all too familiar with the bulb switching on in comic stips. And, of course, they save us from having to live in the dark ages. But how much do you know about lights and lamps? Take the rediff business quiz to find out.

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1. Who invented the neon lamp?
a) William Murdoch
b) Charles F Brush
c) Georges Claude

Wrong! Try again.
Wrong!
The correct answer is Georges Claude.
Georges Claude of France invented the neon lamp in 1911. Charles Brush of the United States invented the carbon arc street lamp in 1879. In 1792, the first commercial use of gas lighting began when William Murdoch used coal gas for lighting his house in Redruth, Cornwall.
Correct!
Georges Claude of France invented the neon lamp in 1911. Charles Brush of the United States invented the carbon arc street lamp in 1879. In 1792, the first commercial use of gas lighting began when William Murdoch used coal gas for lighting his house in Redruth, Cornwall.

2. General Electric is a result of a merger between which two companies?
a) Edison General Electric Co and Thomson-Houston Electric Co
b) Brush Electric Co and American Electric Co
c) Swan Electric Light Co and Westinghouse Electric Co

Wrong! Try again.
Wrong!
The correct answer is Edison General Electric Company and Thomson-Houston Electric Company.
In 1892, a merger of Edison General Electric Company and Thomson-Houston Electric Company created General Electric Company. General Electric or GE is the only company listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Index today that was also included in the original index in 1896.
Correct!
In 1892, a merger of Edison General Electric Company and Thomson-Houston Electric Company created General Electric Company. General Electric or GE is the only company listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Index today that was also included in the original index in 1896.

3. Who invented the light bulb?
a) Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans
b) Thomas A Edison and Joseph Wilson Swan
c) All of them contributed

Wrong! Try again.
Wrong!
The correct answer is All of them contributed.
Contrary to popular belief Edison did not 'invent' the light bulb. Instead, he bought the patents from those who did. Man-made electrical lighting itself began in circa 1810 when Humphrey Davy a British chemist invented the arc light.

Then in 1820 Warren De La Rue placed a coil made of platinum into an empty tube and allowed an electric current to pass through to form the first known proto-light bulb In 1840 English physicist and chemist Joseph Wilson Swan joined the race to produce a workable electric light and twenty years later in 1860 he patented an incandescent lamp.

The design for the bulbĀ used by Edison was not his alone. It had evolved out of a glass concept invented by two Canadians: Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans, who too like Swan had to sell the rights to the patent to Edison because of lack of funding.
Correct!
Contrary to popular belief Edison did not 'invent' the light bulb. Instead, he bought the patents from those who did.Man-made electrical lighting itself began in circa 1810 when Humphrey Davy a British chemist invented the arc light.

Then in 1820 Warren De La Rue placed a coil made of platinum into an empty tube and allowed an electric current to pass through to form the first known proto-light bulb.In 1840 English physicist and chemist Joseph Wilson Swan joined the race to produce a workable electric light and twenty years later in 1860 he patented an incandescent lamp.

The design for the bulb used by Edison was not his alone. It had evolved out of a glass concept invented by two Canadians: Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans, who too like Swan had to sell the rights to the patent to Edison because of lack of funding.

4. Lamp is a derivative of a
a) Greek word
b) Japanese word
c) Egyptian word

Wrong! Try again.
Wrong!
The correct answer is Greek word.
The word lamp is derived from the Greek word lampas, meaning torch.
Correct!
The word lamp is derived from the Greek word lampas, meaning torch.

5. Kerosene lamp was first introduced in. . .?
a) China
b) India
c) Germany

Wrong! Try again..
Wrong!
The correct answer is Germany.
In 1859, drilling for petroleum oil began and the kerosene (a petroleum derivative) lamp grew popular, first introduced in 1853 in Germany.

Coal and natural gas lamps were also becoming wide-spread. Coal gas was first used as a lighting fuel as early as 1784. Early lighting fuels consisted of olive oil, beeswax, fish oil, whale oil, sesame oil, nut oil, and similar substances.
Correct!
In 1859, drilling for petroleum oil began and the kerosene (a petroleum derivative) lamp grew popular, first introduced in 1853 in Germany.

Coal and natural gas lamps were also becoming wide-spread. Coal gas was first used as a lighting fuel as early as 1784. Early lighting fuels consisted of olive oil, beeswax, fish oil, whale oil, sesame oil, nut oil, and similar substances.

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