PhotonWrangler
Flashaholic
That 100-year incandescent bulb at the Livermore, CA Fire Station has now outlasted the webcam that was pointing at it. Thomas Edison nods in approval.
Also, it is my understanding that incans generally on start up, during which it experiences the greatest stress. Assuming that this one is not turned off, it should be fine. However if they turned it off & on again, who knows what may happen?
Actually, I believe that at one point the light bulb was moved, it must have been turned off at the point.
Ref: http://centennialbulb.org/facts.htm (Installed 1901, moved 1903, 1937, and some power outages, until its last move in 1976 where is now runs under a back-up generator)
Even a circuit running with generator backup has power interruptions. It takes a few moments for a generator to fire up after a power outage, and the transfer switch won't operate until the generator is up to speed and stabilized. Thus a commercial power failure could result in an outage of 10-30 seconds. The only way to avoid this is to have the bulb running on a UPS which is then backed up by a generator. So I'm wondering if this is actually the case. :thinking:
And magnetic fields.You are correct - most incandescent bulbs blow out when they're first turned on due to the sudden thermal shock.
I don't think tungsten is magnetic, though the two posts that hold it probably are.And magnetic fields.
Neither are the aluminium coins and cans crushed with magnetic fields here (for example). :tinfoil:I don't think tungsten is magnetic
Yes, some of the hotwire folk do that with their overdriven bulbs so they don't die on startup every other time they turn their torches on.I realize incans are dead technology by this point, but I wonder if a soft-start circuit would greatly extend their lifetime.
If you're regularly dealing with 3,000 joules, blown light bulbs are likely the least of your concerns.Neither are the aluminium coins and cans crushed with magnetic fields here (for example). :tinfoil: