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The Story of the Light Bulb
How we caught light in a glass ball
Flip a switch and snap—your room fills with bright, warm light!
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- Long ago
Dark Nights
People used candles and oil lamps to see after sunset. The flames were smoky and could easily blow out.
The big idea
People learned how to trap a tiny electrical glow inside glass to light up the dark.
Fun facts
- ✨ Thomas Edison tested over 6,000 different plant materials before finding the best one!
- ✨ Old-fashioned bulbs got so hot that only 10 percent of their power turned into light.
- ✨ A light bulb in a California fire station has been glowing continuously since 1901!
Science words
- Filament — The thin thread inside a bulb that gets hot and glows.
- Vacuum — A space that has had all the air sucked out of it.
- LED — A tiny light maker that uses very little power and stays cool.