fluorescent lamp 1 The Invention and Inner Workings of the Fluorescent Lamp

One of the inventions that did not make it into the book was the fluorescent lamp (or tube). That is not to say it isn’t a fascinating story – it certainly is. The trouble is that there is not one big “eureka” moment. It could be said that the fluorescent lamp was never
really invented at all but that it evolved over time.

The creation of the fluorescent lamp was a truly joint effort spanning a century: Here are the milestones:

1675: Jean Picard, a French astronomer, noted that mercury in a barometer tube would glow when shaken. He recorded this observation but did not understand it

1846: Julius Plcker, German mathematician and physicist, theorized and experimented with colored light produced by passing electricity through various
gasses. He worked with glassblower Heinrich Geissler who invented what was to become known as the Geissler tube in which the experiments were conducted.

1850′s: Heinrich Geissler continued to develop light emitting tubes

1857: Frenchman Alexandre Edmond Becquerel experimented with electric discharge tubes coated on the inside with various luminescent materials… More >>