Warren de la Rue demonstrated the first incandescent light in 1820. He used a platinum filament. He had the right idea - use a filament of a metal with a really high melting point. But platinum was too expensive. After a long detour through Edison's carbonized paper filaments, General Electric figured out how to make fine tungsten wire. High melting point tungsten wire was the basis of a century of light bulbs.
Making tungsten wire wasn't easy. Cast tungsten is brittle. There's a tricky powder metallurgy process which can produce ductile wire that can be coiled.
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Joseph Wilson Swan invented the first practical incandescent electric light.
Warren de la Rue demonstrated the first incandescent light in 1820. He used a platinum filament. He had the right idea - use a filament of a metal with a really high melting point. But platinum was too expensive. After a long detour through Edison's carbonized paper filaments, General Electric figured out how to make fine tungsten wire. High melting point tungsten wire was the basis of a century of light bulbs.
Making tungsten wire wasn't easy. Cast tungsten is brittle. There's a tricky powder metallurgy process which can produce ductile wire that can be coiled.