# General Electric Co — Patents explained on PatentBrief

General Electric Co has 3 landmark patents explained in plain English on PatentBrief.

- [How Scientists Created Bacteria That Eat Oil Spills](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4259444/chakrabarty-genetically-modified-bacteria) — granted 1981
  A 1981 patent for genetically engineered bacteria capable of breaking down multiple types of oil, which became the first living organism ever patented.
- [How to Make Silly Putty Using Silicone and Zinc](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2541851/silly-putty-bouncing-silicone) — granted 1951
  A 1944 chemical process for turning liquid silicone oil into a bouncy, stretchable, putty-like material by adding boron compounds and zinc hydroxide.
- [How William Coolidge Invented the Modern X-Ray Tube](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/1203495/coolidge-x-ray-tube) — granted 1916
  A 1916 patent by William Coolidge for a high-vacuum X-ray tube that used a heated tungsten filament to control electron flow, replacing older, unreliable gas-filled tubes.

**Full profile:** https://patentbrief.org/company/general-electric-co

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_Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Plain-English explanations of US patents._