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How Did Joseph Swan Contribute To Science

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There are a lot of important chemists that have made plenty of contributions to the world and, Joseph Swan is one of them. You may not have even heard of him before unless you are a very dedicated Chemist, Pharmacist, or are a electrician or photographer. If you haven’t then it’s okay because now you can say you have. There isn’t one single chemist that is unimportant but, I’m going to tell you why it is that Joseph Wilson Swan is still a relevant subject today in science. Swan was born at Pallion Hall in Sunderland, England on October 31st, 1828. His parents, John Swan and Isabella Cameron, allowed him to roam about Sunderland. Do to his freedom; he was able to see the development of his surrounding and to see the development of industries …show more content…

He left Sunderland and came to Newcastle in about 1845 to work with his sister’s (Elizabeth Swan) Husband. Swan’s work with light bulbs began in 1850 and in 1860 he finally developed a primitive electric light bulb that used a filament of carbonized paper in an evacuated glass bulb. Unfortunately, there were a few issues with it and the light bulb was inefficient but, it was a sign of his progress. In 1871, he devised a method of drying wet photographic plates after noticing that heat increased the sensitivity of the silver bromide emulsion. Swan also invented a better photo printing technique in 1864 with the “Carbon Cycle” and in 1879 with “Bromide Paper”. Swan eventually created a successful electric lamp in 1878 and was able to demonstrate in on December 18th of 1878 at the Newcastle Chemical Society. However, it ended up burning out after a few minutes. Joseph did not give up despite his failing trials. He kept working at it and after a few more demonstrations people fully understood what it was that Swan was trying to accomplish. They finally saw it as a possibility, as a reality. Other things about Joseph Swan that most people didn’t mention is that he was married twice and had quite a few kids with both wives. His first wife died in 1862 and then his sister-in-law became his new wife. Also, in 1904, he was knighted by King Edward VII which …show more content…

Most people only remember the fact that he created the first working incandescent light bulb, if they even know who he is to begin with. Though creating that light bulb was very important, it wasn’t the only thing that Swan accomplished. Today, we still use the Carbon Cycle and bromide paper. He helped improve printing photos by a lot. Also, he created a method of drying wet photographic plates. So, overall his creations were aimed toward photography and electricity but, they were very important to the entire world that is science. The thing about any invention is that the little things scientists find out about different chemicals, elements, tools, or anything they use can be helpful to other scientist in the future. That goes for all scientists, not just Swan. Another reason what he did was so important is because we still use his inventions today. I know that there are scientists out in the world that invent stuff that only help people for a short period until something better and new come along. Even though I know that every invention is needed to learn from, the goal of any invention is to solve problems and make things better. Swan’s inventions solved problems which is why they are still being used

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