An electric light, lamp, or gentle bulb is an electrical gadget that produces light from electricity. It is the most typical type of synthetic lighting. Lamps usually have a base fabricated from ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic that secures them within the socket of a gentle fixture, which is also commonly referred to as a 'lamp.' The electrical connection to the socket may be made with a screw-thread base, two metal pins, two metallic caps or EcoLight outdoor a bayonet mount. The three most important categories of electric lights are incandescent lamps, which produce gentle by a filament heated white-hot by electric current, gasoline-discharge lamps, which produce gentle via an electric arc by means of a gas, similar to fluorescent lamps, and LED lamps, which produce light by a move of electrons throughout a band gap in a semiconductor. The power effectivity of electric lighting has significantly improved since the primary demonstrations of arc lamps and incandescent light bulbs in the 19th century.

Fashionable electric gentle sources come in a profusion of varieties and sizes adapted to many purposes. Most trendy electric lighting is powered by centrally generated electric power, reduce energy consumption however lighting may also be powered by mobile or standby electric generators or battery programs. Battery-powered gentle is often reserved for when and where stationary lights fail, usually within the type of flashlights or electric lanterns, as well as in autos. Earlier than electric lighting became widespread in the early twentieth century, people used candles, gasoline lights, oil lamps, and fires. In 1799-1800, Alessandro Volta created the voltaic pile, the first electric battery. Current from these batteries may heat copper wire to incandescence. In 1840, Warren de la Rue enclosed a platinum coil in a vacuum tube and passed an electric current by it, EcoLight lighting thus creating one of the world's first electric mild bulbs. The design was based on the idea that the high melting level of platinum would enable it to operate at excessive temperatures and that the evacuated chamber would include fewer fuel molecules to react with the platinum, enhancing its longevity.

Though it was an efficient design, the cost of the platinum made it impractical for EcoLight lighting commercial use. William Greener, an English inventor, made important contributions to early electric EcoLight lighting with his lamp in 1846 (patent specification 11076), laying the groundwork for future improvements such as these by Thomas Edison. The late 1870s and 1880s have been marked by intense competitors and innovation, EcoLight with inventors like Joseph Swan within the UK and Thomas Edison within the US independently developing useful incandescent lamps. Swan's bulbs, EcoLight energy based on designs by William Staite, have been successful, however the filaments were too thick. Edison labored to create bulbs with thinner filaments, resulting in a greater design. The rivalry between Swan and Edison eventually led to a merger, forming the Edison and Swan Electric Light Firm. By the early twentieth century these had fully replaced arc lamps. This innovation turned a regular for incandescent bulbs for a few years. In 1910, Georges Claude launched the primary neon light, paving the best way for neon indicators which might develop into ubiquitous in promoting.

In 1934, Arthur Compton, a famend physicist and GE marketing consultant, reported to the GE lamp department on successful experiments with fluorescent lighting at Normal Electric Co., Ltd. Nice Britain (unrelated to Common Electric in the United States). Stimulated by this report, and with all of the important thing parts accessible, a staff led by George E. Inman built a prototype fluorescent lamp in 1934 at Normal Electric's Nela Park (Ohio) engineering laboratory. U.S. Division of Energy. Compact fluorescent bulbs are additionally banned despite their lumens per watt performance due to their toxic mercury that may be released into the home if damaged and widespread problems with proper disposal of mercury-containing bulbs. In its modern kind, the incandescent mild bulb consists of a coiled filament of tungsten sealed in a globular glass chamber, either a vacuum or full of an inert gasoline resembling argon. When an electric present is related, the tungsten is heated to 2,000 to 3,300 Ok (1,730 to 3,030 °C