The Topic-Changing Thread

These threads function wonderfully for the purpose of communicating a large amount of information in a compartmentalized, searchable format. If you have a specific question or have a particular area of interest, you can start a thread or search through the database to get your fix on the concentrated area of your choosing. One benefit in particular I think we miss out on here, however, is the educational impact that an ongoing, boundary-less conversation has to offer. By stripping away the boundaries that forum categories and thread titles typically limit us to, I think we can succeed at producing a more thorough, interesting, idea-generating conversation than that which we are used to following.


To illustrate my point, think about what it would be like if two of us were to randomly meet at a social gathering and discover we shared a similar interest in illuminative devices. I suspect we would have a lot of interesting subjects to talk about. Our conversation would probably take a number of natural turns that would interest and educate both of us.


I would like this thread to take a similar approach. You might wonder why I think this is a good idea. After all, if you take this forum as a whole it bears striking similarities to a conversation with many subjects. While this is true, do any of us have the time to follow every post in every thread? Our interests are by nature limited to the topics for which we already have an awareness. So a thread that welcomes conversational turns can benefit us by keeping us involved in a conversation that broadens our awareness.


Additionally, a lot of times I find myself reading threads that just start to get more interesting when they drift off-topic, but moderators are forced to redirect them back to the specified subject so that we can maintain some level of order here. I understand the necessity for this action, for without it we would have no ability to find the information we often seek. We would have to comb through pages and pages of unrelated material if we ever wanted to locate an answer.


I often follow one particular thread or another for a while in hopes that there will be this continual spring of interesting information on the subject it discusses. However, after a while no one can think of anything new to bring up on the subject and it often fades into pages and pages of repetitious dialogue. As a result, my level of interest in continuing to follow that particular thread wanes. If I want a thread to follow, I then have to search for a new one that has the potential to contain new and interesting information.


These are some reasons that demonstrate why I think having one dedicated thread to a boundary-less conversation could serve as a great resource for opening our eyes to subjects we would never even think to search for without it.


I thought about where, exactly, I should place this thread, and I concluded the café is its best home. While a majority of the content we discuss here will probably involve illumination, I want the thread to remain as free as possible from boundaries. If we find ourselves talking about something as peculiar as the benefits of walnut over mahogany wood, then let us tackle that subject. The only courtesies I can think to ask at this point are to:

1. Make sure your comments have at least a loose connection to whatever others are currently discussing or have already discussed.
2. Keep jargon to a minimum. This thread is intended for the benefit of all, so if the current topic necessitates the need for technical language, please explain or define any terms that are beyond a flashaholic's wife's vocabulary.

And with that hefty introduction, let's get this thing started. I'll start us off in the first post.

Currently, I am really excited about the future of a worldwide L.E.D. takeover. We already have LED "bulbs" that can replace their incandescent and compact fluorescent competitors. They are incredibly more efficient and longer lasting than incandescent bulbs. In contrast to CFLs, LEDs boast a higher efficiency, a longer lifespan, an immediate start-up at full brightness guarantee, a better tint, and an unbreakable, non-poisonous composition. Tempting? Pricing is always becoming more competitive. If only we could figure out how to dissipate the heat really efficiently with a well-designed heat sink, we would only have a marketing challenge to overcome – and when marketing represents your only issue, you don't have any issues. Even if you do nothing, time and word-of-mouth will take care of that. That's exciting. I wonder how much longer we will have wait until we witness this worldwide takeover. I suspect LEDs will one day be in virtually every streetlight, home light, and even stadium light fixture, as well as in most automobile headlamp assemblies.


With regard to heat sinking, I wonder if the idea of a liquid coolant has ever been experimented with. Does anyone have any knowledge of this?

UPDATE: I did some searching on here and found that the topic of liquid cooling has been discussed.

I agree that this would be fun, and have sort of suggested it in the past, but it hasn't happened. I strongly doubt it will happen this time. Blog-type threads are typically not encouraged on CPF.

If my memory serves me correctly, the last one of these was closed in short order.

CPF is organized into forums that represent most topics of personal lighting and beyond. We even have a forum designated for off-topic discussion, when the discussion doesn't fit into the organized, and searchable topical forums. Off-topic tangents to threads happen quite spontaneously, and in the off-topic forum, The Cafe, a reasonable degree of latitude is generally given. However, a thread devoted deliberately to mixing topics, including some such as post number two of this thread, which is a designated LED topic, does not lend itself to reasonable searches or goals of reasonable forum organization.

Our Cafe forum is the designated off-topic forum, and the chosen means of organizing off-topic into related threads. We're not inclined to endorse a single thread to absorb that function.

The thread is closed.