The light bulb is an iconic emblem
of ideas and innovation. It is difficult
to imagine the realities of daily living
before its invention, but consider
Thomas Edison’s vantage point:
he imagined an electrified world
before it existed, and he brought that
transformative vision to life.
For millennia, open flames from fires
and torchlights were supplemented with
expensive candles and oil lamps that
exuded weak light and filled homes with
smoke. The light bulb put electricity to
use with revolutionary consequences:
It transformed lives by decoupling
humankind’s work and rest schedules
from the cycles of the sun. It made
our environment safer at night and
brightened our homes. It illuminated
playgrounds for the human imagination.
When electricity became available
as a form of power in the 1800s, an
explosion of innovation began. This
innovation was fueled in particular by
the demand for better, more affordable
light. Thomas Edison’s famous bulb was
just one of many light bulbs invented at
that time, and it was not the first. But
Edison’s iteration made the light bulb
practical, and his business acumen
made it commercially viable. His vision
spurred the creation of lighting systems
for homes and entire cities, and his
access to capital gave him the means to
execute that vision.
Edison’s success created an entire
ecosystem of innovations and
businesses, including incremental
improvements to the light bulb and
the rapid electrification of homes and
workplaces. The electrification of
lighting in turn led the way for many
other inventions that relied on this new
system of grid-based energy.
“Energy is the only universal
currency: one of its many
forms must be transformed
to get anything done.”2
The light bulb’s evolution—from flame
to incandescent, fluorescent to LED—
is emblematic of the progression of
energy-powered innovation. Successive
innovations were built on each other
and have continued to refine lighting
technology in ways that harness energy
more efficiently.
The lessons the light bulb offers to
energy innovators are clear: Use
promising energy systems as the basis
for innovation. Focus on practical
inventions. Capitalize on the potential
ecosystem of business that exists
around important new innovations.
Create infrastructure if it does not
already exist. Think boldly—imagine a
transformed world, as Edison did, and
work to bring your vision to reality.