Re-Inventing The Carbon Lightbulb

[@Nighthawkinlight]

"It takes a thousand men to invent a telegraph, or a steam engine, or a phonograph, or a photograph, or a telephone or any other important thing-and the last man gets the credit and we forget the others. He added his little mite - that is all he did. These object lessons should teach us that ninety-nine parts of all things that proceed from the intellect are plagiarisms, pure and simple; and the lesson ought to make us modest. But nothing can do that." - Mark Twain

[@anonymouswhite7957]

Exactly my thoughts on the topic of invention, all an effort of the collective. “Many people doesn’t fully realize what they are made of. They don’t know the creation of things. Where the things that form our lives today come from. Our roots, without them we can’t stand on our own. That’s why they are swayed by rumors without roots” - Daisuke Igarashi. But then again i wouldn’t say plagiarism is a bad thing, sapiens neuron system are based on information/pattern copying. Technically we are all natural laws plagiarizer. Claiming an invention to themselves is still arrogancy though. Also realistically speaking a human can’t truly own a method to make/invent something, socio constructs made it all possible..

[@Jessestank]

NightHawkInLight i just subscribed i really liked the starlite vid please do more research i would love to see another vid on that stuff

[@jjohnston94]

"You didn't build that" - Barack Obama. This is what he meant. No one can truly claim to be self-made.

[@toddsellers289]

This made me think of Steve jobs

[@LENZ5369]

I think those are 2 separate issues. The fact that all invention is a series of incremental steps taken by our species; applies to all invention and is thus superfluous. The issue at hand; is perception that Edison (intentionally or otherwise) has sapped all of the credit/recognition *from his contemporaries/employees*. In contrast; someone such as Swan (or Tesla) comes off as a 'nerd beavering away in his garage'. I don't know what aspects of the lamp; Edison actually invented/discovered (perhaps you have come across some relevant sources while researching?) but I'm inclined to view him the same as I do Steve Jobs or Elon Musk -Jobs is not a computer scientist/engineer and Musk is not a rocket scientist/engineer; they are businessmen, innovators and perhaps 'visionaries'.

[@theCodyReeder]

Dang it I was going to do this! Meh, let’s face it I probably would never have gotten around to it and wouldn’t have as good a job. 😅

[@Nighthawkinlight]

I was watching your carbonizing series unfold as I was making filaments myself. I'd definitely like to see your take, especially if you can make a coiled filament from wood!

[@SecretAgentXD1]

Could you do a vacuum based bulb using a sprengel pump?

[@mrpegger4497]

Cody put those damn light bulbs away and dig the chicken hole tunnel. I want to see that. Love you.

[@koukouzee2923]

Cant wait for codys version !

[@masonp1314]

Cody, you've got a superior vacuum pump, you can still make one! And now this is almost a CHALLENGE FOR YOU TO MAKE ONE BETTER THAN NIGHTHAWK

[@ElectroBOOM]

Very nice! I couldn't make it better if I tried. I would just use one of those mechanical pen graphites to make my life easy! Lazy man's methods and such!

[@NotMe-ej9yz]

Haha I did that in high school! I used to repair retro electronics so I had a decent understanding of electricity (for a 17yo), so when we were making circuits in physics class I quickly taught a bunch of teenage boys how to make some fire with their circuits and some graphite. Lets just say they were pretty interested in learning about electricity after that 😅

[@snarkypoo1]

Who else read this in ElectroBOOM's animated voice? 😆

[@myrealusername2193]

@@NotMe-ej9yz I did sort of the same thing but rather when we did an experiment on electromagnetism I showed some people how to make transformers (we had some iron nails and wires plus a power supply). Suffice to say, many pencils were burnt that day

[@SilntObsvr]

Some decades ago, a PBS series called *The Secret Life of Machines* did an episode on electric lights that covered most of this material. They ended the episode by lighting their garden (English folks, we'd call it their back yard) with a string of bulbs consisting of quart milk bottles, each pumped down to vacuum with a length of pencil "lead" (graphite and clay mixture) inside, and voltage to the string controlled with a Variac. I don't think they ever managed a bamboo filament, either, though they did demonstrate a vacuum bulb with a cotton string filament.

[@AmidaNyorai48]

🤔😯

[@corktail7900]

now people will know what to do with their mountains of toilet paper

[@ComradePhoenix]

That should be Nighthawk's next project, homemade toilet paper.

[@robson6285]

Hahaa yes indeed! LoL!(is that how you name hilarius things in english)

[@Knoti]

@@robson6285 yes it is

[@CrapkinsTheBrave]

😂

[@ericchambers9023]

I have an Edison Mazada light bulb, that my father found in his grandmother's attic, and packed away in a coffee can, in 1969. The bulb, 25 W, still works to this day! I think it was made in the 30s, and has a tungsten filament. The funny part is, I think the metal coffee can it's stored in is worth more as an antique, than the bulb itself.

[@Vinnay94]

Sorry, but that 25w Mazda lamp is worth way more than a tin can imo. Please, shut up and take my money.

[@gregorymalchuk272]

I would avoid burning it at the full 120 volts if you want to extend its life.

[@eriktenhag2022]

I think you might have something in your hands which might be worth a whole load of money in the future. It deserves better storage than a coffee can, trust me.

[@Sparky-ww5re]

@@gregorymalchuk272 yes if you really want to run the bulb, for demonstration purposes or high school science classes, whatever, given it's irreplaceable value, I would use variable autotransformer also called a Variac, set to no more than 110 volts and ideally 100 to 105 volts. Assuming the bulb dates to the 1930s or earlier most if not all homes during the early days of electrification, were actually supplied with 110 volts, or 110/220 volts. To understand why, we need to go further back in time, when Edison designed and opened the first power plant in NYC in 1882. His supplied 110 volts DC using large dynamo. At this time, electricity was only available locally, as the voltage drop was such that after a mile it was unless, and only the wealthiest of families had their homes wired, using knob and tube. Then, a few years later, Nicola Tesla improved and patented the power grid using Alternating Current, or AC. This was a huge success, because, using banks of transformers we can step up the voltage greatly to transmit long distance, then step down the voltage again, before it enters the customer's home, and 110 volts AC was chosen, so as to be backwards compatible with Edison's lamps. Only when AC became widely accepted and used, was it possible that the average homeowner could afford the many conveniences made possible by having their homes fitted with electrical wiring.

[@zaratrusta79]

and that's why capitalism breeds innovation just to subsequently replace it with planned obsolescence.. light bulbs were subsequently made not to last so long, otherwise they would not be as profitable. Would be interesting if this video would have explored a bit this topic too, since it's one of the best documented examples of planned obsolescence.

[@MrArcher0]

I actually toured Edison’s shop in Florida as a young man some 45 years ago. At the time there were still bulbs burning that were made by Edison lighting his shop.

[@Acer81996]

To this day the Sprengel pump (the one Edison might have used) is still by far the most energy-efficient method of creating high vacuums.

[@Muonium1]

I had somehow not heard of this device until a few years ago when Cody did his video making one. It's nothing short of a revelation. Insanely high efficiencies, super high vacuums, produces barometer light, and it can kill you by electrocution despite not having a single mechanical moving part or need for an electrical power source. What more could you want

[@GRBtutorials]

@@Muonium1 Speed and not using mercury? The Sprengel pump is efficient, but also slow and it uses mercury, which is now banned in many places as an environmental concern, so not everyone can get mercury... Also, in Cody's video, a significant amount of mercury got inside the radiometer with which he tested it, which is not ideal, you're losing your precious mercury and contaminating the chamber.

[@sac3528]

@@GRBtutorials It's fairly easy to increase the speed by simply running multiple pumps in parallel.

[@5thearth]

Well, up to the vapor pressure of mercury anyway.

[@JonS]

Swan had a Sprengel-like pump that he invented himself, two years before Herman Sprengel.

[@Kashxk]

You can easily see that he too enjoys himself a lot while making his videos. Very genuine and enjoyable to watch.

[@crimsonhalo13]

3:15 You forgot to mention the other huge perk of carbon arc lighting: *free suntans.*

[@Toxicity1987]

You mean skincancer.

[@MiniLuv-1984]

He did say that the emit huge amounts of UV....that is where suntans come from.

[@Keith_Ward]

@michael wittmann Tell that to all the people who have died from it

[@virtualgod3324]

@@Keith_Ward man calm down he said just little bit of cancer

[@cate2732]

@@Keith_Ward you're a dull human being

[@Dr.Fluffles]

I think it's fair to be able to both recognize the innovations and good someone brought to the world, while also acknowledging the shady and messed up things they did along the way. Edison was a genius, who brought lesser known inventions into the limelight that would become indispensable to the world, inventing some of his own, legitimately, along the way; but he was also a genius that used people to further his own image without proper accreditation, even when he knew the inventor, and supported people who did horrible things, such as Brown, if they worked in his favor. Recognizing the good and the bad of great historical figures' actions is how we can grow over time to filter out the bad, and encourage the good.

[@ketsuekikumori9145]

It's also way too easy to credit just one person for inventing a thing, when innovation is really the product of decades (or even centuries) of work. We often credit the person who managed to connect all the dots because they were the one person able to see the big picture. Philo Farnsworth is often credited for inventing the first electronic television, but it wouldn't be possible if Ferdinand Braun didn't make the cathode ray tube, which wouldn't be possible if J.J Thomson didn't demonstrate the ability to deflect electron beams. Electron beams wouldn't be possible without the discovery of the electron thanks to J.J Thomson and his contemporaries, or electromagnetism thanks to Michael Faraday.

[@nobodynever7884]

Edison was a genius. Period.

[@julianwalde4810]

Playing around with an arcwelder like that once gave me horrible "sunburn" on my hands and arms ... always wear long sleeves and welding gloves if you do something like this!

[@Toxicity1987]

Sunburns are the right word here, the high amount of UV-A to UV-C Radiation burns your skin in minutes.

[@gabrielschoene5725]

Did the same thing, but I was shirtless, and was running my welder for half an hour or so. Thankfully my welder burnt down before my burn got any worse.. still worst sunburn I've ever had

[@drewgehringer7813]

and we were letting arcs like that run all night as street lighting!

[@charlesdickens6706]

@@drewgehringer7813 ........they were certainly used in early days of film studio lighting . I'm not certain of their use in street lighting , the studio ones required constant tweaking as carbon rods wore away . We still have variety of lights that aren't carbon based but enclosed in quartz glass and sometimes called arc lights in some places or countries . The quartz glass permits UV to pass , so a normal glass cover or outer envelope is required to block the UV. At this moment I'm considering what To do with an early film studio lighting setup I have taking up useful space in my shed . .There was a hazard identified some years ago about UV exposure from once popular halogen down lights and reading lamps cos most had no normal glass envelopes or covers but it's all LEDs now .

[@scotteskridge7460]

I currently have two pretty serious burns on my arms right now from welding. One from having my sleeves rolled up (just me being dumb) and one from just a torn hole in the sleeve of my shirt ( I didn't really think it would be a problem, know better now). And when I mean seriously we're talking blisters and several weeks of multiple layers peeling and what almost looks like a patch of scar tissue, the amount of UV coming off an arc is no joke.

[@41A2E]

What if you first replaced the atmosphere of the bulb with an inert gas(or the propane), THEN pulled the vacuum, that way you would have no oxygen to react with it, and a vacuum to minimize the airwashing?

[@SoundOfNeutral]

If you pull a good vacuum from normal air, the leftover amount of oxygen would already be minimal and the reaction with the filament should not cause significant problems. Once the oxygen reacted with the carbon to carbon dioxyde it becomes inert anyways. I don't think it would make much of a difference.

[@41A2E]

@@SoundOfNeutral I think the key word there is *good* vacuum. How do we know if the vacuum is indeed good enough? On paper you are right, that is all we should need to do, far less complicated. I came up with my suggestion based on the premise that perhaps the vacuum he's pulling isn't deep enough, so replacing the air first would eliminate ALL oxygen, removing that variable from failure of the bulb.

[@MikkoRantalainen]

@@41A2E Maybe you could have two filaments with separate wiring? One thick and sacrificial, another thin and the one you actually want to use. Once you enclose the bulb, burn the thick one for quite some time to make sure it has used all oxygen and then turn on the actual filament.

[@KallePihlajasaari]

A lot of bulbs are filled with argon to improve the thermal transfer from the internal structures to the outer glass and then the environment. A perfect vacuum is not practical for all uses as it works like a thermos bottle and there is poor transfer of heat to the outside. Halogen bulbs have a different trick up their sleeve with a reactive vapour in the bulb to fetch tungsten from the hot blub (that is closer to the filament) and deposit it back on the extremely hot filament.

[@sirsanti8408]

@@MikkoRantalainen well it wouldn’t use all the oxygen as the reaction would fizzle out before the oxygen is used up completely

[@PhiTonics]

Next: make the forever tungsten lightbulb. Please.

[@ErikAdalbertvanNagel]

you mean wolfram

[@frantisekzverina473]

@@ErikAdalbertvanNagel tungsten = wolfram

[@ErikAdalbertvanNagel]

@@frantisekzverina473 no shit sherlock

[@benaskalinskas4154]

@@ErikAdalbertvanNagel then why ask if he meant wolfram if they mean the same thing

[@williamforbes6919]

@@benaskalinskas4154 Because this is apparently a German speaking channel covertly dubbed into English. Incredible lip syncing!

[@creativerecycling]

I did something similar a few years ago with my grandsons. I used an old pickle jar with electrical connections glued through the lid and also a connection for a vacuum pump made from an old refrigeration compressor. For a filament, I used a 0.7 mm pencil lead from an automatic pencil. And a power source was a 12 V lawnmower battery. It worked quite well and I have a video of the end result. It produced a lot of light and heat, and lasted for several minutes before it died.

[@iStormUK]

You used that bird to trick me into watching the sponsor.... Good call, I wanted to see what he did next, now thats marketting.

[@TheSadButMadLad]

I noted that too. What a brilliant trick! ;-)

[@xGARIDx]

Yea not skipped the ads video

[@roundgarage]

Joseph Swan used nitrocellulose as a filament that worked better than bamboo. He also developed and patented a vacuum pump to extract air from the bulb. Thank you for making us more aware of Joseph Swan.

[@boneappletea7441]

This channel is like "How it's made" to me Am i gonna make any of the things this channel teaches? No Do i enjoy knowing how it works and seeing the steps to making it? Yes, very much so

[@MikkoRantalainen]

I totally agree. That said, the small sandblaster was a nice project which I might actually try building - combined with battery operated compressor designed for airbrushing it could make a pretty nice portable rust removal tool.

[@Dalewoodian]

NightHawkInLight: here's a message from my sponsor that helps me make this awesome content. Me: OMG! Birb clicked the pen!

[@Bigfoot_With_Internet_Access]

Well you know how it is, sometimes in life you've just gotta make a carbon filament lightbulb

[@madmanmapper]

Carbon arc lamps did not consume a lot of power for the amount of light output they gave. For the time, they were well suited to street lighting and large indoor areas like factories. The dangerous UV C light they gave off was completely blocked by the glass shades put over them, so they were completely harmless in that regard. They enjoyed probably 100 years as the go-to electric public lighting, staying in use in some cities up into the 1920s or later. The main downside of needing the rods to be replaced every couple days was really not a big deal when you consider its main competition - the gas light - needed each light to be manually lit every night, then extinguished every morning.

[@anonymousaccordionist3326]

Every time I watch one of your videos I am taken aback by the incredible production quality. The lighting is perfect, the artistry of the filmography, not to mention the clear and fluent way you convey these concepts. Very well done, Nighthawk.

[@drbahb1]

I really enjoyed this video. It reminded me of my own experiments as a boy in the 1950's trying to make a light bulb. For a filament I used the spring from a ball point pen. As did Edison, I used direct current. In my case I used the transformer from my electric train set. To eliminate the oxygen in the glass bottle that I used as a bulb, I dropped in a lit match before sealing. The results were only fair with little light, but a little better as I turned up the voltage.

[@Advoko]

Ben, great educational video. I only hold a grudge against Addison because he was slowing down Tesla's AC implementation with his DC concept that he was pushing through. We all know whose concept was better now))

[@jmd2432]

@Marc T Tesla's polyphase electricity (known as AC today) could be sent for LONG distance transmission without loss of voltage, where Edison's DC idea and transmission lines LOST SO MUCH voltage in a short distance that he would have had to put a power plant every 2 miles or so to make it work.... thus not working very well. That's why Tesla won-out over Edison. By the way, Tesla was the developer and designer for the first AC power plant today known and built on Niagara Falls!!! --- Interesting huh ---

[@221b-l3t]

Also he publicily electrocuted animals to show how dangerous AC is. Kinda uncool.

[@12...]

It's not that AC itself is more efficient, it just allowed the use of higher voltages because it's easier to convert between voltages with AC today we actually use high voltage DC for some power lines, now that technology has improved

[@221b-l3t]

@@12... Still the power loss over longer distances with AC is substantial.

[@Six_Gorillion]

@@221b-l3t Lmao what power loss? What are you on about? There is power loss with DC the same, beside you need thickass wire for DC to not burn up under the same load. Cant believe there are actually dumbasses in 2021 hinting ac is in any way inferior to dc in any distance over a meter.

[@aetius31]

Maybe you could acheive proper thinning using chemical etching via the Boudouard reaction (c+ co co2)

[@scaper8]

The way I typically describe Edison: "He was a decent, but not exceptional, scientist; but he was a phenomenal, but very shaddy, business man." He did personally invent many amazing things and thought out many more, but he also all but outright (and in some case fully outright) stole many more via legal machinations. That latter may have been quite the norm for business leaders at the time, but that doesn't make it right.

[@tallywhacker75]

i agree, he was smart/devious enough to know that there were other people who were 'smarter' than him and knew how to harness these other people's minds to serve his interests. (having a paid 'mole/spy' in the local patent office was just one of the examples of his 'business acumen'). that said, he certainly advanced progress in the scientific fields regardless..

[@yfs9035]

Elon musk *cough*

[@harrybetteridge7532]

Edison started as a solo inventor but realized the money was not so much in the patent but in the mass production of the product.

[@jessetheunending9357]

Nothing has changed

[@SHcinema]

You cannot cast a historical figure in a modern context. It is a fools quest and utterly hypocritical unless it's with the humility that NiL describes. The people of those times ran under the rules of those times. What Edison did or did not do during his life is the subject of tons of speculation, conjecture and historical spin. I have never been a fan of his approach to patents, projects, etc. but what he did back then is still being done today under entirely 'acceptable' standards that people see as okay... it's only been given different clothing. Most of what he did back then would today be called "venture capitalism" which is also a poor turn of phrase. What people do on Patreon, or GoFundMe or any of the various crowd funding sites can draw the attention of larger money pools to buy their concepts outright. Those concepts are then taken in the hands of experts and fully developed into a working product. This is precisely what Edison and his various companies did. So why is he such a demon for doing this back then... even aggressively, when such things are done today... even aggressively?! Yet many of these modern Edison's are seen as Tech Gods and 'super brains'. Just goes to show that nothing has changed, yet hypocrisy continues. Yeah, best we stay humble in the face of creation... especially mans own creations.

[@lexboegen]

This was extremely interesting. So much of modern life is taken for granted. I am old enough to remember when lasers were invented and the general reaction was something like "that's interesting, but what is it good for?" Hard to believe today.

[@nikkiofthevalley]

Now, when someone makes something genuinely useless, everyone says "Ooh this is so useful!" And ignores actual useful stuff.

[@juhajuntunen7866]

And leds were red dots or 7 segment number display.

[@MikkoRantalainen]

If the only laser we had today was huge ruby apparatus, we would still be wondering "what's it good for". After something has been invented, the engineering required to make it practical is often the most important part. And Edison was ultimately an engineer, not an inventor.

[@scharkalvin]

Edison's greatest invention was that of the industrial laboratory. He hired skilled artisans to do the work that he wasn't skilled at, such as glass blowing, running a lathe or milling machine, and in some cases doing complicated math. Edison's inventions were in many cases based on the previous work of others that had reached a dead end. He would read up an the current state of the art, and then see how he could build upon it. This is not theft. As Newton had said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants”, so did Edison. Edison was also a shrewd businessman as well as an inventor, the Bill Gates of his time.

[@HamguyBacon]

You can compare Edison to Steve Jobs.

[@MikkoRantalainen]

@@HamguyBacon That's actually pretty good comparision. Neither Edison nor Jobs had personalities liked by many but both accomplished great things. Edison was more on the engineering side and Jobs was on the design side.

[@notsam498]

@@MikkoRantalainen From my perspective, in modern times we shouldn't find Edison that strange. Engineers often work in teams, with someone over them making bigger decisions while they innovate. Further working for large companies as an engineer it is uncommon you will get a lot of credit or publicity for your work. Just like today there was a huge benefit for working with other brilliant minds on hard problems. You don't exactly see Elon musk welcoming a whole team of engineers to the stage that worked on the tesla model 3 or starship. You know the name of any engineers that worked on the car you drive? Further taking a half completed idea and refining it, readying it for production, that's common, and rarely do any companies or people give credit to the idea they are on the shoulders of.

[@simguy]

The inventors in his staff accepted that he would patent their good ideas, and leave their names out. Still happens today.

[@ElementalMaker]

What an absolutely awesome project! Always inspiring to watch your videos 👍

[@hiiambob89]

Your videos are really cool as well!

[@jeffreyyoung4104]

When Edison was still my boyhood hero, I read many stories about the light bulb he created and his work with bamboo. After many trials with bamboo from around the world and all the failures, he switched back to cotton thread and learned how to spiral the thread and carbonize it so the resistance was higher and it used 100 volts DC. He was very satisfied with this system and went on to make all the fixtures, switches, plugs, sockets and fuses required to wire a house properly. If you were to thin the pine tar, and coat the thread with it before carbonizing it, then wrapping the thread around a mandrel, you can make a good filament for a lamp.

[@andinbriwel1092]

NightHawkInLight: Let’s be humble in our opinions. The internet: ... ... ...BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!🤣🤣😂🤣😂😝

[@syntaxusdogmata3333]

Hey now, I'm the humblest person I know!

[@holden_tld]

was going to skip the sponsor section, but that bird was too flippin cute. well played.

[@austiwawa]

Very neat and interesting! Great video!

[@justinbunkley5052]

Air pressure solution; Build a simple bellows, inflate, scale weight to desired gravity fed rate of air pressure ratio. It will come out slowww, controllable, and consistently. BTW, I love your channel. FANTASTIC that you’re TEACHING US. I LOVE IT. THANK YOU! Keep teaching us. We appreciate you.

[@christopherneelyakagoattmo6078]

If memory serves, in addition to the bamboo being quite old, Edison also treated them with some sort of organic solvent, like acetone: essentially dissolving the lignin, before forming, then charring in a chamber purged with carbon monoxide. Thanks.for.this.content.

[@MikkoRantalainen]

I was about to write a similar comment. I'm not sure if acetone is good for that but some solvent is the correct answer. Basically the optimal solvent would be some something that attacks anything else but carbon and can be burnt away.

[@missingthe80s58]

I play Red Dead Redemption 2, the detail that went into this game is absolutely mind boggling. Some of the street lamps in the city of St Denis are carbon arc lamps. They stand out with their intense purple/white glow. Most others are carbon filament type and like in the video produce a dull yellow/orange glow. Like I said, they did their homework when making that game. This is something I've thought about doing myself for fun, making a carbon filament bulb. Good to see it done here.

[@fauna575]

This was fascinating to watch! It's amazing to think just how many challenges were overcome by Edison and his team in order to produce something that we take for granted nowadays

[@jogandsp]

I really appreciate your comments about Edison. I personally haven't done the research necessary to make a claim over how much credit he deserves. However, something I've noticed over time is that many people crave simplicity. They want a cut and dry world view. People are willing to demonize each other or dismiss whole groups if people or come to many wacky conclusions because it is easier than accepting that the world is a complicated place and isn't so black and white. It's refreshing to hear someone else recognize that nothing in this world is that simple.

[@ecdetrick4560]

jogandsp In my opinion people demonize Edison because this gives them a feeling that “I am better than a great person in history because I found him a badass” and they dismiss other brilliant work Edison made.

[@axelpatrickb.pingol3228]

I think this is a reaction to how cut and paste Edison's image was to the public. We all know he is the guy with 2000 patents, and all the sweet things. Then we found out he only had a hand in some of those, and how he treated other inventors like Tesla and Westinghouse, and how he had a hand in killing an elephant to discredit Tesla's idea. His "underhanded" tactics in the Current War is what I believe that tarnished his reputation because it runs counter to Edison's good boy image and against what American believed in: competition and fair play. He might be cast as the very thing people criticized capitalism for...

[@scorpio6587]

I love this historical science and engineering exploration.

[@wesleytownsend8214]

What a fantastic video. I am an electrical engineer and I also am a merit badge instructor for Boy Scouts on several classes about electricity and some other practical engineering topics. This is very informative content and I think anyone interested in some of the basic functionality would benefit and give them some information that could be built on later. I will recommend this as a prerequisite to certain courses. Thank you, this was excellently done. I wish all the best to you and yours!

[@jamesluck2969]

11:44 it hit me for a second that back filling with propane might be hazardous until I remembered it would be close to if not above the UEL ( upper explosive limit), effectively being hard to ignite and produce a combustion chamber. Some proportional geiger tubes and ion chambers use butane or even propane as a back fill, but the lack of oxygen content is what keeps them from combustion. Even when a ionization event occurs and produces a spark.

[@psychosis7325]

Lol I instantly thought of this and imagined the idiot that tries to replicate poorly achieving a nice stoich mix using no eye protection.

[@Freizeitflugsphaere]

Hope this channel never loses its quality. Keep it up! Great work! Love from Austria 😃

[@N1RKW]

I remember doing experiments like this when I was a kid, using stacks of NiCD batteries as a power source. Nearly burned the house down about a hundred times, but I learned that scraps of copper, aluminum, and other bits of metal simply don't work as light bulb filaments in the open air, at least not for long. I got a few wire-shaped burns on my hands also.

[@juliashenandoah3965]

I bought one of these new Edison lightbulbs 40 Watts with carbon filaments a few days ago (from Eurodomest Netherlands to give my Japanese minimalism-style Ikea lamp an authentic as possible light bulb) and I can`t stop staring into this awesome light while listening to Audiobooks and Creepy Pastas at night...... It looks absolutely stunning it looks like illuminated gold, no LED bedside lamp with fully adjustable LED colour can emit this colour gradient, and none of my cameras can really catch the true golden shine of it when sending pictures of these awesome light bulbs to my friends. Impressive I have never before seen a light more beautyful and mysterious than carbon filament bulbs.

[@pocket83squared]

I appreciate that intro. We all too often caricaturize historical figures when we attempt to categorize them. As our understanding grows, the emerging picture is rarely black or white. In my own reading of Edison, I've found him to be as brilliant as he was interesting. He changed the world through innovation; he was far more than just a catalyst or organizer. Naysayers most often voice from a position of ignorance. Or comfortable laziness. I mean, given how many ideas the guy is tied to, who now is really in a position to judge him? lol. Awesome content.

[@Goodpatron]

Your preamble about Edison in the first two minutes of this video earned a like from me. 👍

[@jameshansen1903]

James Burke credited Edison with inventing the modern research laboratory, a factory that invents new industries. Those who would refuse him credit for inventing the lightbulb still have to give it to him for turning a delicate science fair project into an affordable, durable and obtainable light source for the masses thanks to his vast power grid. Whether or not it was his idea, he's the reason everybody takes them for granted until they all blackout.

[@cezarcatalin1406]

His power grid that was mostly never used because Tesla figured out alternating current is better for power transmission over long distances... You know, I can give him some credit for finding smart people to work for him... but anything else is simply uncertain. The credit for inventing lightbulbs actually should go to everyone that contributed to this technology, a bit of it going to Edison himself. But giving Edison the full fame for finding hundreds of little optimisations and adjustments in the lightbulb design or even saying he invented the lightbulb himself... that’s just plain and obviously wrong - at that point we are not concerned with giving credits, we are concerned with creating an idol.

[@JonS]

Yes, and no. Edison does deserve a lot of credit, and a lot of criticism. Like all human beings he was a complex character. He was instrumental in the introduction of low-cost, long-life light bulbs, but the implication that we wouldn't have had them for well over a century had he never existed is where I disagree. There were so many other people working on this problem that we would have gotten there maybe just a few years later. While Swan's bulbs had the issue of requiring high current, it seems very likely he would have refined his design and manufacturing until he overcame this short-coming (BTW, he also was pulling a vacuum, initially using his own Sprengel-like pump that he invented two years before Herman Sprengel, but later using pumps supplied by Sprengel himself, just like Edison was using). If he had not done so, other people would have jumped in seeing the commercial opportunity to beat Swan.

[@VIDEOEPPO]

Your views of Edison impresses me. People would never get into a debate if the examination question asked who invented the commercial light bulb. What I am surprised is, We were ruled by the British for 200 years and the school books never mentioned about Joseph Swan. With that out of the way... It is a comprehensive video filled with information and practical experiments. I wanted to make a video on a similar subject ( in Tamil) but dropped it, cause I never even managed to light up pencil graphite led. Now I see the reasons why.

[@dtaggartofRTD]

Edison's work as a patent breaker required a certain kind of smart. He was a very smart man. Definitely agree that he deserves quite a bit of credit in the inventions he brought to market. Ideas are one thing. getting a competitive product mass produced is a whole different area of expertise.

[@maxk4324]

The parrot during the sponsorship section is pure genius! All youtubers who have pets should seriously consider doing this.

[@electronicsNmore]

Really great video! Highly informative. I made a video a while back showing how a load lamp works, it's just like what you did at 12:55. It's very useful for testing.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Neat, I guess I have a new use for my bulb setup once I'm finished with it. I never thought to use such a thing for other purposes

[@peglegnoid6139]

@@Nighthawkinlight Edison Screw Socket is worth a mention as well on this topic.

[@JUANKERR2000]

Thanks for acknowledging Swan as an important contributor to the incandescent lamp, too many credit Edison alone.

[@xxportalxx.]

I find it funny how Edison is demonized for 'stealing credit' from his employees, yet Steve Jobs is renowned for the iPhone lmfao

[@ccortez392]

what does this video have to do with iphone? or steve jobs.

[@ccortez392]

NatSoc Kaiser well he came up with the idea of the iPhone. He came up with the idea of the iPhone and the way he wanted it to be designed. And he isn’t remembered as an inventor he’s remembered as the creator of Apple.

[@christian9506]

For now.....

[@holycaptnjack9803]

Difference being, someone else didn't come to Steve Jobs with a mostly figured out iPhone that he just filled in a couple missing pieces for. False Equivalence

[@boobgoogler]

Same with Elon Musk

[@stanleyburgess4127]

I have been watching you for years and I want to be an electrical engineer and your videos are part of the reason why. THANKS! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

[@evilplaguedoctor5158]

so THIS is the filament type Dr. Stone used in the anime.

[@askquestionstrythings]

Oh look another Dr Stone fan... 👍

[@TechKidShazil]

yup

[@mackfisher4487]

Excellent: Reproducing something so seemingly basic, then discovering its complexities and finally success (light) more fun than watching KZbin videos but my hands are clean. Thank you very much for your video

[@bpark10001]

You are Missing out on what Edison really did in making the light bulb and the process he ended up with. Unfortunately, this is detailed in only one publication that I have found. It is "Cyclopedia of Applied Electricity", volume 3. (I have hard copy of this book in very bad shape, which I spent enormous time scanning.) This series of volumes is on Google Books, but the volume 3, despite claiming to have "electric lighting" in frontispiece like my book, is not included in the table of contents, nor its pages. (I have PDF of book, and I think it is legal for me to share it. If you provide me place to send it, I will.) Very short explanation goes like this: cotton is boiled in zinc chloride solution. It turns into gummy goo. (Edison invented plastic!) This goo is extruded through tiny orifice into alcohol, which hardens it into a fiber. Fiber is passed through boiling water to remove zinc chloride, dried, and reeled. This fiber is pyrolized (as you did) into carbon filament. On purpose, filament is made "too thin". Filament is mounted into bulb base with tar binder as you did. Next step (you sort of did for a different purpose) is to insert into chamber filled with gasoline vapor. (Edison called this "flashing".) Power is turned on, and hot filament builds in diameter as gasoline "cracks" and adds layer of graphite. This makes filament stronger, and more importantly, uniform in section (thin area is hotter which builds faster). When resistance drops to desired value, relay cuts off power to that filament. Filament/lamp base is glassblown onto lamp globe and evacuated. Edison used a "getter" to scavenge gases in vacuum. You can use a 2nd filament, or better, a pinch of red phosphorus applied to the filament (converts to white, then scavenges oxygen). Since this involves a utility, you need to explain the "voltage squared divided by resistance" problem regarding the amount of copper required to transfer "X" amount of power "Y" distance with "Z" efficiency. Because Edison was "stuck" on DC, the voltage in the transmission lines had to match that of the lamps.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

There is some mention of this as one of several methods in Edison's first patent, fibers rolled from a plastic of nitrocellulose. I have also read of prepping the filaments by firing them up in a hydrocarbon environment, I believe I read this in Latimer's patent. What you've shared is slightly different though. Very interesting. If you can send a relevant page or two to me I would very much appreciate it. I did not expect anyone else to be familiar with the specifics of how filaments were made, this is a pleasant surprise. [e-mail]

[@the_retag]

Can i have it too? Id have to find a way to receive emails in my main with a temporary adress, probably simple, but im on mobile only today

[@bpark10001]

@@the_retag Yes you can. Give me email to send it to.

[@densealloy]

1:58 thanks for adding George Westinghouse here, as most people list the participants of the current wars as Tesla and Edison. Westinghouse gets left out for some unknown reason and folks seem to think it was Tesla, Edison was at "war" with. Tesla was absolutely brilliant but so was Westinghouse and he was also a savvy businessman with morals and ethics..someone who should be lauded and spoke of more.

[@askquestionstrythings]

Tesla, also worked for Edison and then Westinghouse. Always seems odd to ignore Westinghouse in the discussion.

[@gabedetter1570]

I really liked how the plink sounds lined up with the filaments burning out during the intro clip

[@blockparty5695]

Dude, I haven’t watched in a bit. You’re killing it. These videos are so well made!

[@stanford1546]

I was experimenting with carbon rods and I can't understand why some graphite rod brands work and others don't

[@masonp1314]

Likely things that are on it. Hit it with a torch for a second to burn off anything on them?

[@ziasyshesmer5461]

NightHawkInLight, Almost 10 years on KZbin, this is the first time I subscribed to a channel: yours. Really a very educational work, which inspires me and which I would like to demonstrate in front of my Boyscout team, to inspire them too.

[@TrentTationnaiseXization]

When I first got into vaping, designing coils led me to a dark hole. You should look into different designs of vape coils. It'll be interesting if nothing else.

[@orbitalstitch]

Building vape coils actually gave me a much deeper understanding of ohms law and electronics in general. It's a weird hobby that tries to find the most efficient way to combine this kind of physics and artistry.

[@bairfamilyfarm1336]

Going into vape coils is alot like going into electric water heaters. With the addition of worrying about metal vapor in your lungs. Even with the perfection of vape coils to eliminate metal vapor, it still scares me. Therefore, you have additional factors needed ontop of your basic "battery powered glowy heaty wet thingy", a very interesting design.

[@CanIHasThisName]

Genius way of making people watch the sponsor segment.

[@elighb4314]

Holy crap man, I only come across your channel like 8 hours ago while I was looking for gasifier ideas last night lol. I have subscribed also, cool channel mate.

[@gramursowanfaborden5820]

Mr Teslonian has a lot of good gasifier videos.

[@acciaiomorti]

been watching nighthawkinlight for 9 or 10 years, its great to see he still does what he loves

[@lancemckenzie2305]

Hey! This bro just used that japanese sparkler (tsenko hanabi?) rolling technique on the paper towel filament. Very inventive!

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Wow, I actually didn't...I don't know why I didn't think to

[@24680kong]

He twisted paper. It's not some ethnic thing.

[@Retro-Future-Land]

@@Nighthawkinlight Return to the workshop and give it a second go?

[@PatPatych]

> Shows the ad. > But also shows a cute parrot so can't skip it. You've outsmarted me this time, my man...

[@hiiambob89]

In my AP USH class we were even taught Edison electrocuted animals and stole Tesla's spotlight. Although many things i've been taught there have actually been false.

[@the_retag]

He did do that later on, in the ac/dc war

[@JasonTRogers]

Thank you for making this video. It has been the best in-depth look at carbon lights I have found thus far!

[@HashlandXXX]

Thanks again, for another well manicured, comprehensive lesson in science.

[@GRBtutorials]

Yeah, certainly Edison wasn't as bad as it's portrayed, and according to a biography of Tesla I read, he even helped Tesla once when he had financial problems (which were a result of Tesla's contradicting mindset of wanting to give away his inventions to the world for free, and the same time, enjoying many luxuries, such as staying in the most luxurious hotel in the world). There certainly were other people who were more hostile to Tesla than Edison.

[@RomanoPRODUCTION]

We need your sensibility and kindness with the madness of ElectroBoom

[@elijahaitaok8624]

So Edison didn’t steal the invention, he invented a more effective one *AND* an effective way to make it a viable product

[@Six_Gorillion]

Thats not inventing tho. thats development.

[@TonyOnekaNobY]

Happy holidays and great work on this project. 🎄 It's good to see someone able to look beyond the drama that lurks within the studies of science history and encouraging to observe another individual gaining a higher appreciation for a craft by experiencing it for themselves. 💡 I hope you get to enjoy the rest of 2020 along with many more enjoyable years to come! 🌃🏙📆🎊🎉 Sincerely, Tony

[@minnaqiu6510]

“To blow every fuse in my workshop” “Let’s try it!”

[@gregsmith1719]

It's quite a challenge to pay attention to you when you have your feathered friend doing all the magic. Keep it up!

[@kniforger]

I once worked with a fiber artist who used bamboo fibers -- an almost silky fiber that can turned into thicker strings and cords, and that looked like it would give you the needed consistency. This would be the mechanically separated bamboo fiber, not the rayon stuff derived from bamboo as it is no different from any other rayon -- WIkipedia has a decent overview of the difference. I've seen it for sale at various fiber craft shows, so it is available if somewhat rare.

[@OgdenM]

I love that you know that most bamboo fiber is really just normal rayon! Most people don't and sing it's praises about how much more eco friendly then cotton it is... and it's actually worse because of all the processes it has to go through to be turned into fiber that you can make clothes etc out of.

[@syntaxusdogmata3333]

What an engrossing video! It's fascinating when you touch on the history.

[@RaviolistRavioli]

Has someone been watching Dr. Stone?

[@aeredhaelredfalen6194]

My thoughts exactly. Great show.

[@akbarrmd7714]

Its makes me happy cry caused by all the science that can be reproduced.

[@bettasplendens713]

Not gonna lie, I was totally going to skip past the ad in the video, but your parrot was so cute I just had to watch the whole darn thing.

[@CheekyPseudonym]

Why was every great American inventor, a Patent Clerk?

[@MisterNohbdy]

standing on the shoulders of giants usually involves a lot of reading

[@Taydrum]

because only the wealthy were educated

[@m.w.2098]

I'm guessing the answer searched for by Cheeky Pseudonym🐻 is because they, as others claim, were thieves...

[@derekchristenson5711]

Very nice! A fascinating look at experiments that I didn't know could be done with such simple materials.

[@SevgilimTurkiyem]

7:32 Your bird is awesome

[@joebloe9901]

Edison found 10,000 wrong ways to build a lightbulb. This was Tesla’s biggest peeve about Edison. Tesla worked out details to projects in his head before trying 10,000 wrong ways. Great video I just subscribed.

[@asvarien]

Move to Europe, you get double the voltage from the outlet.

[@Thefreakyfreek]

an average American home uses uses double the power than a European home so if you give American homes 240 volds thay may use not 4 times but significantly more usa needs to change their consumption

[@seanwalton6208]

Impressive. I like how you put things in historical context. Very well done.

[@cleetus1715]

Your video “isn’t meant to address Thomas eddison being a fraud” but you repeatedly praises him and says he is not. it’s clear documented he was indeed a fraudster that would patent other people’s ideas. But he is also an American icon which is probably why you hold him in high regard. The patriotism is strong in this one

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Give me a break. If Edison was still popular in America he would be the one they were naming car companies after.

[@masonp1314]

To be fair, even someone that may have done unethical things, still can be known for starting a revolution in designs or concepts. Especially during the time Edison was around, Tesla and other famous electricians were all "stealing" ideas from each other. But really, they were the one who brought the idea and lead the revolution. Nowadays, take any new invention, if it was designed under a company, the company has full ownership over the designs of the person. Do we call it "Disney's Ratatouille" or "Brad Bird's Ratatouille"? Sure the small guy directed it, but it was under work of the boss.

[@cleetus1715]

MasonP13 Disney never hired someone with the promises of a great paycheck and then never payed them. They also aren’t going around smashing up dreamworks studios with hired goons just because dreamworks is a competitor. Edison was driven by money and greed, while Tesla was driven by passion and innovation.

[@TenBuckCanuck]

Exactly right...Edison has never been viewed as anything other than a patent thief, bully and a fraud by the outside world...just not in Murica where excuses are made for his behaviour.

[@Vode_ika]

@@masonp1314 Brad Bird does get credit as the director though, how many people got any credit for things they invented at Edison's company?

[@lordofelectrons4513]

I am surprised that more effort was not put into developing a miniature arc lamp. Long ago as a kid I built such an device and it was fun to tinker with. I used a 400 Volt transformer salvage from a old tube radio and carbon rods, extracted from some small dry cells, mounted them in metal box with a reflector mirror. It worked rather well for such a crude device. I never got around to adding a solenoid to maintain the rod's spacing with this improvement it probably would have operated for hours with no intervention required.

[@ricknelson947]

My grandfather blew lightbulbs for Corning for 40 years. Retiring in 1967. He talked about Edison all of the time. I have on my own gathered a moderate collection of early lightbulbs. Were you using bamboo that had been harvested and drying for 10 years, or using bamboo that had been growing for 10 years? My own experience with bamboo ( never attempted to make a carbon filament) while working at mountain top tower sites in Taiwan. Finding bamboo 3 & 4 inches in diameter. Using a knife, I could peel away the very thick very flexible individual fibers. I only thought about it, but I did surmise in my mind that Edison would use these large fibers, make the hairpin bend in them and bake in an oxygen deprived way to get the bamboo carbon filaments he tested with. I know that the info is out there somewhere in writing. I’m partially going off of my grandfather’s stories. Edison, Swan and Tesla were all amazing people to me. Because my grandfather admired them all so much. I could never pick just one as my favorite.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

That's a great history, very interesting. I could not find fresh samples of bamboo in Michigan, but I did not look very hard. I may try again with a better variety of samples.

[@ricknelson947]

Thank you for the opportunity to share a little of my history. Another relevant memory I had was that Edison would also braid a few bamboo fibers together, give them the hairpin bend and carbonized them in some of his tests. Maybe that would work better with younger thinner bamboo fibers. Can’t imagine how tedious that would be though.

[@ianmelzer]

In my Industrial Electrical classroom at Benson Polytechnic we have a bunch of stuff previous professors have collected. We were going through it and we found something we couldn't identify but It had a patent number. Come to find out it was an WWII era arc lamp spotlight from a navy ship with rotating carbon electrodes.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Yep they got really clever with them. That one probably had clockwork to feed the electrodes closer together as they erode away

[@1kveane]

This ( and Cody'sLab ) is by far my favorite channel (channel's) on KZbin! Love your content and this types of videos with grate explanations of how you are doing your experiments is something I really are looking forward to seeing. Thanks for making this videos and brightening my day🙂

[@nikthefix8918]

Love the intro. Very balanced and real. Credit where credit is due is nearly always murky - especially in engineering.

[@TheElectronicEngineer]

Wauw..that’s amazing.Last year I recreated a Uv light with plate surface in a vacuum chamber. It worked on 500V. Your video reminds me of how much fun it is to recreated “ what lookes like” a simple inventention now but was a real challenge in the old days

[@RusZugunder]

NightHawkInLight : **reads an ad** My brain: Look at this bird!

[@ytwdh]

E = i x R, P = i x E, that's all I can remember... Awesome video, Ben. As of this posting, 1.8% of responders have no idea how Christmas lights work or why they should replace burnt out bulbs as soon as possible. 98.2% of responders don't buy new Christmas lights every year.

[@robertnewman4854]

Thank you so much for not just bashing Edison like everyone else does. Say what you will about the man, but he and his employees did some incredible things.

[@pirobot668beta]

Patents in the US have a line wherein one writes the name of the Principal Investigator: the person who had the bright idea and made it work. US patents also list the Investigators Supervisor and Employer, a recognition that great ideas are a team effort. Only two patents granted in the US have Edison listed as Principle Investigator. 1) Using magnets to separate iron from junk on a conveyor belt 2) Collapsible concrete forms for making houses There are thousands of "Edison Patents" There are thousands of "Tesla Patents" too, but his name was on the Principal Investigator line. The most important Edison invention was the business model he created.

[@ThistlesGarden]

Awesome video, heard about the Edison vs. Swan debate but didn't know the technical differences. Thanks!

[@AeronHale]

Holy crap... I remember watching you way back when you were making homemade fireworks. Good to see that you're still around!

[@Max_Chooch]

I did this when I was thirteen. Except I used a pipe cleaner that I had un-twisted for my filament. Then I took one of the two wires you get from a pipe cleaner, straightened it, and then carefully wrapped it around a 2mm mandrel to make a coiled filament. I tested this with a 12v d.c. wall wart as my power supply, and I put it in a small minced garlic jar, garlic excluded, of course. If my filament burnt out, I made another one with one more turn of wire around the mandrel. Eventually, I had a homemade light bulb that was bright enough I could read by, and lasted quite a long time. Basically comparable results as this video.