A light bulb is manufactured from resources found across the world. Knowing what role these resources play in manufacturing processes helps us understand why some technologies were successful and others were not. The glow from light bulbs depends entirely on the metals in the filament. In the late nineteenth century, manufacturers struggled to find a metal that did not melt when emitting a soft, warm glow. Only a few metals had the sought-after properties, and these became valued resources., This article explores how the manufacturing of light bulbs affected and was affected by access to metals. Manufacturers competed fiercely to ensure they acquired the resources only found in a few places worldwide in their quest to take over the expanding lighting market. Making light bulbs in an era of protectionism affected extraction sites and politics globally.
...More
Article
Luxbacher, Günther;
(2011)
“Für bestimmte Anwendungsgebiete best geeignete Werkstoffe…finden”:Zur Praxis der Forschung an Ersatzstoffen für Metalle in den deutschen Autarkie-Phasen des 20. Jahrhunderts
(/isis/citation/CBB001033936/)
Article
Wiederkehr, Karl Heinrich;
(2010)
Über Vorstellungen von der elektrischen Leitung, die Entwicklung einer Elektronentheorie der Metalle und der Beginn einer Festkörperphysik
(/isis/citation/CBB001021508/)
Article
Saes, Alexandre Macchione;
(2013)
Modernizing Electric Utilities in Brazil: National vs. Foreign Capital, 1889--1930
(/isis/citation/CBB001320954/)
Article
ZAPICO, DANIEL PÉREZ;
(May 2020)
Aesthetics and the political apropriation of the electric light
(/isis/citation/CBB137990386/)
Book
Messer, David W.;
Wrabel, Frank;
(2015)
Power Clash: PRR vs. B&O Motive Power and Passenger Traffic Competition 1827-1962
(/isis/citation/CBB747060684/)
Article
Manubens, Joan Carles Alayo;
(2010)
Electricity in Spain, Its Introduction and Industrial Development
(/isis/citation/CBB001252250/)
Book
Sandy Isenstadt;
(2018)
Electric Light: an architectural history
(/isis/citation/CBB448492949/)
Book
M. Grant Norton;
(2021)
Ten Materials That Shaped Our World
(/isis/citation/CBB346943024/)
Book
Josef Webel;
Klaus Hentschel;
(2016)
Geschichte und Praxis der Materialforschung: an den Beispielen Materialprüfung und Materialprüfungsanstalt (MPA) Stuttgart, Flüssigkristalle und Bildschirmtechnik sowie Supraleitung
(/isis/citation/CBB709818485/)
Book
Braun, Hans-Joachim;
Herléa, Alexandre;
(2002)
Materials: Research, Development, and Applications
(/isis/citation/CBB000201758/)
Article
Ross, Corey;
(2014)
The Tin Frontier: Mining, Empire, and Environment in Southeast Asia, 1870s--1930s
(/isis/citation/CBB001420325/)
Article
Hernández, Raymundo;
Novaro, Octavio;
(2014)
The First Metals in Mendeleiev's Table: Part II. A New Argument against the Placement of Hydrogen Atop the Alkali Metal Column
(/isis/citation/CBB001422090/)
Book
Tyer, Brad;
(2013)
Opportunity, Montana: Big Copper, Bad Water, and the Burial of an American Landscape
(/isis/citation/CBB001420316/)
Chapter
Simon A. Cotton;
Carmen J. Giunta;
Vera V. Mainz;
Gregory S. Girolami;
(2021)
The Rare Earths, a Challenge to Mendeleev, No Less Today
(/isis/citation/CBB077239037/)
Article
Fischer, Georg;
(2014)
Minério de ferro, geologia econômica e redes de experts entre Wisconsin e Minas Gerais, 1881--1914
(/isis/citation/CBB001420713/)
Book
Thomas Philippon;
(2019)
The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up on Free Markets
(/isis/citation/CBB844468036/)
Article
Harold D. Jr. Wallace;
(October 2021)
Inventing in a Crisis: Lighting the United States after the 1973 Oil Embargo
(/isis/citation/CBB086280719/)
Essay Review
Hård, Mikael;
(2010)
The Victorian Eye and Its Blind Spot: Toward a Cultural Assessment of Technology
(/isis/citation/CBB001567121/)
Essay Review
Morus, Iwan Rhys;
(2010)
Illuminating the Victorians
(/isis/citation/CBB001567119/)
Essay Review
Collins, Martin;
(2010)
Introduction
(/isis/citation/CBB001567117/)
Be the first to comment!