History of Artificial Lighting, From Fire to LED [History]

Having become so present and accessible, artificial light has been forgotten in the same way as the air we breathe. It is obvious and is only noticed by its often-exceptional absence. Its omnipresence is such that it goes to excess, resulting in light pollution; environmental impacts; impacts on fauna and flora; and, even more serious, impacts on human health. But it has also been an essential driving force in the evolution of humanity. From the first traces of the mastery of fire as a light source up to the "electronic" light of LEDs, we will travel through more than 500,000 years of history of lighting technologies and more particularly focus on the last 150 years, which have ended with the LED revolution.