Science and technology in the United States finish. For example, the British engineer Joseph Swan built an incandescent electric lamp in 1860, almost 20 years before Edison. But Edison's light bulbs lasted much longer than Swan's, and they could be turned on and off individually, while Swan's bulbs could be used only in a system where several lights were turned on or off at the same time. Edison followed up his improvement of the light bulb with the development of electrical generating systems. Within 30 years, his inventions had introduced electric lighting into millions of homes. Another landmark application of scientific ideas to practical uses was the
Philip Diehl (inventor) patents issued to Philip Diehl: Diehl erected the city's first arc light in front of the Corey Building in Elizabeth, which still stands at 109 Broad Street. Diehl's invention of the induction lamp was used by George Westinghouse to force royalty concessions from Thomas Edison. The Westinghouse Company bought Diehl's patent rights for $25,000. Although Diehl's lamp could not be made and sold at a price to compete with the Edison lamp, the Westinghouse Company used the Diehl bulb to force the holders of the Edison patent to charge a more reasonable rate for the use of the Edison patent