Thomas Alva Edison invented an electric light and an electric distribution system to power it. This invention began with a search for a lamp to replace gas lighting, which could be dangerous with the open flame. Another alternative, arc lighting, had proven more successful for outdoor lighting than for indoor, where it could give off dangerous sparks and provided too intense a light for small spaces. Others had tried unsuccessfully to develop an incandescent light bulb. However, Edison's "invention factory" system at Menlo Park, New Jersey, proved equal to the task.

The first problem with inventing a practical incandescent bulb was the filament. Most materials burned up too fast and could not give long, steady light. Edison and his team tried thousands of materials for more than a year. They began in September, 1878, with platinum wire filaments, which had a high melting point. To deal with this problem, they enclosed the filament in a vacuum bulb. However, a platinum filament would make the bulbs too expensive for wide use and require large and expensive copper-wire conductors in the power distribution system because of platinum's low resistance to the electric current. Edison realized that a system of incandescent lighting required high-resistance lamps in order to reduce the size and cost of copper conductors. With a good vacuum bulb, Edison turned to carbon for filaments. The successful choice of filament came by accident when Edison abstractedly rolled a piece of compressed lampblack between his fingers until it became a slender thread. Seeing this, he tried it as a filament. With a few further experiments, he found the right composition of materials. On October 21-22, 1879, Edison and his team tested the first successful incandescent lamp in a vacuum with a piece of carbonized thread as filament. Soon they began demonstrating it, but they continued to work on improving the filament. Within a year, Edison's company began producing commercial bulbs with a filament of carbonized Japanese bamboo.

Meanwhile, Edison focused more on inventing the electrical distribution system to power the bulb. His light bulb would only succeed commercially if numerous homes and offices had access to electricity to use the new light source. Edison modeled his distribution system on that of gas lighting, which included central stations, underground conductors, meters, and lamp fixtures. He also designed almost everything in the system, including a new electrical generator, new screw sockets to hold the bulb in the fixtures, and fuses to prevent electrical overloads.

The first permanent central station opened in Manhattan in 1882. It served Wall Street and many of the major newspapers. Edison invented a new lamp and electric distribution system that would change the world. However, eventually his system shifted from direct current, which Edison strongly defended, to alternating current. Edison's direct current system worked efficiently in densely populated cities. However, alternating current could travel longer distances. By 1891, Edison had left behind the industry that he had helped found. His company merged into General Electric. . .

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