Tungsten filament
Filamento de tungsteno
- Date
- 1904–1911 · confidence medium
- Place
- Vienna, Austria
- Credited to
- Alexander Just and Franjo Hanaman (Vienna, 1904); William Coolidge (ductile tungsten, GE Schenectady, 1910)
- People
- 👤 Alexander Just1874–1937👤 Franjo Hanaman1878–1941👤 William David Coolidge1873–1975
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
A metal filament with a high melting point that trebled the efficiency and lifespan of the light bulb. Coolidge's ductile tungsten allowed it to be manufactured by mass wire-drawing.
What it led to
- A decisive drop in the cost of electric light
- Universal electric lighting in homes and streets
- The basis of modern vacuum tubes and X-ray tubes
Built on
Made possible
- Vacuum tube (Fleming diode, De Forest triode)1904–1906
- Krypton-filled incandescent lamp (Bródy)1930
- Tungsten-halogen lamp1955-1959
- Inert-gas-filled light bulb (Langmuir, 1913)
- Coolidge X-ray tube