experimental incandescent light, high current, low resistance
Date: 1865
Inventory Number: 1997-1-1949
Classification: Light Bulb
Dimensions:29 × 4 × 4 cm (11 7/16 × 1 9/16 × 1 9/16 in.)
blue board box: 8.9 × 45.7 × 55.9 cm (3 1/2 × 18 × 22 in.)
Accessories: stored in modern cardboard tube with cotton wool. square wooden box, unmarked, with a sliding cover;
a small, approximately 2"x3" cardboard box, used for shipping, with postage indicating its use in 1930, from Daniel Lowe & Co., Salem, Massachusetts, to Mrs. R. Adams, Antisquam, Massachusetts.
Description:
An early, experimental incandescent light bulb created by Isaac Adams. The bulb assembly is housed in a long, narrow tube with a long, thin protrusion or expansion space at the tip. The bulb is missing its metal base and the bottom edge is chipped and broken. The end of the bulb is sealed, and may possibly still contain nitrogen or other gas. A pair of electrical wires extends out from the base of the bulb.
Inside the bulb, a pair of metal rods are designed to rise from a glass base. The longer one should extend the length of the bulb and curve back toward the base, supporting a filament strip of coiled metal. The strip should form a connection between the longer and shorter rod, completing a circuit, but it has become detached. The rods should be secured to their support by screws, but the longer rod has become detached from its base.