"Who invented the computer?"

I agree that it depends in the definition of ''a computer.''

Thomas Edison invented the first transistor. but, does that count?

Edison invented transistor? Got a link.

http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/physics/transistor/history/

The light bulbs and vacuum tubes used to be the amplifier in radios. They worked like transistors but were never "called transistors"(I gues it is because they are not semiconductors. But that could just be my idea.)

That is an odd article.

For example:

I didn't know light bulbs had two electrodes in them.

Edison's lab was absolutely instrumental in developing a commercially viable incandescent light bulb, but Edison didn't actually invent the first light bulb. There were several others who preceded his lab's work, such as de Moleyns, Swan and Woodward & Evans. Edison bought the rights to the earlier patent of Woodward and Evans and he partnered with Swan to avoid disputed claims. You might even claim Volta produced the first incandescent light.

The 'discovery of the light bulb' could refer to the carbon arc lamp which had two electrodes.  'Edison's light bulb' then came along which used a filament in a (pure) vacuum and was probably 'one of the first uses of vacuum tubes for electrical applications'.

How about Joseph Swan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb  gives him credit before Edison.

Clem

It could be what the author meant, but to be honest the entire article is vague.

Not sure it is worth analysing that article much because it is hard to condense this history

into a few hundred words of course.

If we were to scrutinise it enough, there are other holes in it. It is ok-ish

for people to get some sense of the history but it has plenty of highly important bits skipped

which makes the rest misleading for us, especially because we're so passionate to see

the history of electronics in all its correct glory. We're not the intended audience.

It would be impossible perhaps to get the history accurate in so few words, many would have

refused to try in such a short article maybe.

But you're right, perhaps that is what the author meant, i.e. arc lamps maybe.

Indeed. He's given credit selectively to some people (and some of the headings are misleading too) and missed out others in the article.

But then the article might have been a few hundred pages long! : )

I wouldn't have minded that!!

I think that initially Swan was only able to achieve a partial vacuum in the lamp, so his carbonised paper filament didn't last long enough to make it a practical lamp.

Whereas Edison was using carbonised thread filament in a pure vacuum and was able to get his lamps to last up to 600hours which made them of practical use. I believe he later switched to Swan's carbonised paper as a filament, then to carbonised bamboo.

(There was a documentary about it broadcast here on TV last week.)

More info about the history available at:

History of the Incandescent Light

Arc Lamps - How They Work & History

I think that initially Swan was only able to achieve a partial vacuum in the lamp, so his carbonised paper filament didn't last long enough to make it a practical lamp.

Whereas Edison was using carbonised thread filament in a pure vacuum and was able to get his lamps to last up to 600hours which made them of practical use. I believe he later switched to Swan's carbonised paper as a filament, then to carbonised bamboo.

(There was a documentary about it broadcast here on TV last week.)

More info about the history available at:

History of the Incandescent Light

Arc Lamps - How They Work & History