What is the filament in an Incandescent light bulb made of?

Don't you love it when you get the right answer and you have no idea why? :)

They also contain the noble gas Argon as this won't react with the glowing Tungsten filament which can be over 2000 degrees Celsius. When air (containing Oxygen) seeps in after continual expansion and contraction of the bulb and the seals, the Oxygen reacts with the hot filament causing it to oxidise and break, ie blow the bulb.

tungsten has a very high melting point

The filament was founded by an African American who was working withThomas Edison. His name was Latamaur (spell incorrectly)

i know it tungsten because i have seen inside of a incandescent broken bulb..and it wasn't copper.lead or iron.

Englishman Joseph Swam patented one of the first light bulbs. He and Edison joined forces for using the lighting commercially. Many people involved in the discovery of affordable, efficient lighting for all. Thanks!

The 'filling' within the bulb (which is the glass only - the whole thing is a lamp) depends on the power. Usually for 25W and below the filament runs in a high degree of vacuum but above this power a gas is used to help reduce the rate at which the tungsten 'boils' away from the filament. Gas is usually Nitrogen, or Argon which makes the lamp more efficient. Special lamps up to 10 kW used to be made for use in Film / TV and Lighthouses.

LED Cree lamps I saw my light bill be $40 less in one month.

"Air tight" is somewhat inconclusive? The filament is in a vacuum, which is not necessarily the same. Something can be air tight and still contain air. Air tight means not allowing air to escape or pass through.

Incandescent lights create such a cozy atmosphere, shame they're soo inefficient

carbon filament lamps were used briefly, but emitted broad spectrum radio interference

Player #1111308, While it's said to be true that a single Edison assistant did the lion's share of the exhaustive work to discover an acceptable filament material for the first commercially-viable incandescent bulbs, early Edison bulbs had a carbon filament and a vacuum inside the glass envelope. I believe they used bamboo to make the carbon filament. Edison obtained patents for high-efficiency vacuum pumps, giving him a competitive advantage in mass production. Vacuum kept oxygen away from the glowing hot filament, greatly lengthening the bulbs' lifespans. Modern bulbs, as others have noted, contain argon, a 'noble' or inert gas which won't react with the tungsten filament.

Tungsten filament which can be over 3200 degrees Celsius.

nimblemoon, Yep I do!!

MrOatcake2772, good info

yes nimblemoon. I agree.