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
Edison screw out of use. In response to Edison's patent, Reginald Fessenden invented the bi-pin connector for the 1893 World's Fair. Other lamp bases include the bayonet mount and wedge base. Specifications for all lamp mount types are defined in the following American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) publications: Generally, the two standards are harmonized, although several types of screw mount are still defined in only one standard. In the designation "Exx", "E" stands for "Edison" and "xx" indicates the diameter in millimeters as measured across the peaks of the thread on the base (male), e.g., E12 has