Halogen Lights - History of Halogen Lights

No one likes a dull light bulb that struggles to light up a room, and from the invention of the first light bulb, people worked to build brighter, more durable versions that last for longer periods of time. The halogen light is a great example of this, and was developed as a much-improved alternative to the tungsten lamp.

In the 19^th century, tungsten lamps were commonly used light sources for the time. Shortly after their first use, however, the tungsten located within the bulb would evaporate and leave deposits on the inside of the glass. This dark reside would then result in the dimming of the light source, which would reduce its life span.

Halogen lights overcame this problem through the addition of halogen to the inside of the bulb. When added to tungsten, a halogen compound could prevent the tungsten deposits from forming. This resulted in a clear bulb that can be used for much greater time periods.

The first halogen light was patented in 1882 and contained chlorine halogen gas. However, these first bulbs were quite dangerous, as they became extremely hot and had a high chance of exploding. Therefore advances over the next few decades led to a 1960 patent by General Electric, which used lead, instead of chlorine, to prevent the tungsten reaction. It was a huge success, with large numbers of these new lead-tungsten lights being sold across the nation.

Throughout the next half of the 20^th century, advances in the shape, design, and chemical components of the halogen-tungsten lamps continued to be made. Today, compact fluorescent light bulbs, due to their bright light and environmentally friendly nature, are gaining traction over the old style halogen-tungsten lamps. These bulbs work by electrically exciting argon and mercury vapor, instead of tungsten and halogen, to produce light.

Shining brightly through the decades, the invention of the halogen light was just a single step in the creation of the more advanced lighting sources of today. However small, the halogen lamp will always be a major part of the history of light.