Since the inception of earth, man has dealt with light. With the dynamic nature of the problems to be solved came opportunities to make wealth in form of solutions. This post takes a look at the evolution and development of man as concerns light.
The first problem man ever faced with light was taking away darkness.
In the beginning, Man was familiar to only one source of light; the sun. The 11hours of darkness left man with no choice but to start his day and end it within 13 hours of sunlight. The earliest light technology known to man was traced to the stone age when stones served as flints and wood was the fuel. Man finally found a solution to the prevalent night idleness. Soon, the light( firewood) was used to roast, cook and burn things.
Man improved on this to use coal gas as burner and animal fat as oil. This was the invention in the 17th century.
With expansion and population growth grew a need for a new and more efficient type of light. Amid that burning desire came the discovery of the crude oil. Kerosine lamps was the major source of light. The most notable name to benefit from this is John .D. rockefeller. Oil lamps became the general norm for all homes because of its cheap price and economical value.
At this stage of civilization, the problem was no longer overcoming darkness but finding other sources of light that can cater for many needs at once.
Then the electricity light came to play. The first being the arc lightening; Faraday's 1831 electromagnetic work...
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Improvements in various capacities have been done on Faraday's work and electricity has proven to be the major improvement done during this era. Pthers include the tesla and batteries
With the ever increasing wave in pollution, work is being done to create a cleaner source of light and reduce the over exploitation of non-renewable resources. Here comes the emergence of the HEP (hydroelectric power), solar power, wind turbines etc..
The next wave of light generation is still not fully out but while we awaits its emergence, we can enjoy the various available ones and be sure of one thing; light technology is not static.