Scientists have been researching the potential of LED’s for over 50 years. Like all
ideas that promise radical change, they were greeted with technical challenges and
skepticism. Companies like SolarOasis and Albeo, were born in almost every niche of
lighting. Made up of scientists, researchers, and engineers that realized the potential of
light emitting diodes. With over a century of lighting research to draw from, they
determined to overcome the obstacles, and presented the public with LED products that
meet todays standards of practicality. The people are mobbing towards the light of the
future. But even with the undeniable advantages of LEDs in led grow lights, and
massive global interest, they have not eluded the skeptics. I am reminded of a parallel
story. It took place over a century ago…
In the face of daunting technical challenges and skepticism from leading scientists
and engineers, Edison and his team of experimenters and machinists found the
solution to the decades-old problem of creating a practical incandescent lamp. The light
bulb was the culmination of nearly a century’s worth of work and research on electrical
lighting systems, most of it done by other inventors. Edison’s contribution to this field
was to synthesize all of the past work done on electrical lighting and to solve the
lingering problems that had prevented these other inventors from creating a practical
system. In December of 1879, Edison gave a demonstration of his new invention. As
word spread to the general public, Edison’s lab was mobbed by visitors who flocked to
see the light of the future.
Thomas Edison’s invention of the light bulb was not universally well-received. In the
late 1870s, a British Parliamentary Committee assigned to investigate its value
described the invention as “good enough for our transatlantic friends… but unworthy of
the attention of practical or scientific men.” This quote from H.G. Wells comes from
around the same period… “New and stirring things are belittled because if they are not
belittled, the humiliating question arises, ‘Why then are you not taking part in them?’ “.
–AL