In addition, Edison did not simply come up with the idea on October 21, 1879. He had been working on his light bulb since 1877. He had been trying to come up with a material that could be used as a filament for the light bulb without burning out too quickly. He tried many different substances.homas Edison invented the light bulb in 1879. Edison discovered that a carbon filament in an oxygen-free bulb glowed but did not burn up for 40 hours. Edison eventually produced a bulb that could glow longer. Yojana_Thapa | Student, Grade 10 | TA | (Level 1) Valedictorian.