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Incandescent Light Bulbs -- Now With Nanotubes
from the nanotubes-everywhere dept
The incandescent light bulb hasn't really changed for over 100 years, and it faces competition from LEDs and various other more efficient varieties of lighting (fluorescent, etc). So what kind of "buzz" can incandescent lighting create? Incorporate nanotubes, of course. Apparently, zapping nanotubes can generate more light than tungsten at a given voltage. Researcher have made a prototype that is basically a modified 40W bulb, but the process for making the nanotubes probably isn't cost effective just yet -- especially since the bulb only lasted about 360 hours. So aside from the "neato" factor, I'm not sure what the advantage for using nanotubes for this really is, unless nanotubes become really easy and cheap to make someday.
Reader Comments
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Incandescent light
The whole incandescent light industry in the world is a scam. There is no reason that lights should burn out as quickly as they do, and in fact you can buy a little capactitor to stick into the light socket to dramtatically increase the life of a bulb.
If you don't believe that the system is a scam, take note over the next year of _WHEN_ light bulbs burn out -- they burn out most frequently when you turn them on. Now, how many times do light bulbs in your house burn out? Once a year, maybe. Now, consider how many times the turn signal in your car blinks. Now, consider other lights which blink frequently (turn signals in cars, for example).
The industry has the ability to make a longer-lived bulb, but there's no incentive in any business to ruin your own market, so we're stuck with inferior bulb.
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Re: Incandescent light
Now, consider how many times the turn signal in your car blinks.
Although I don't dispute your point, your facts do not completely support. The lights in the car are DC, which those in your house are AC (huge difference).
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Re: Incandescent light
There is no reason that lights should burn out as quickly as they do, and in fact you can buy a little capactitor to stick into the light socket to dramtatically increase the life of a bulb.
Maybe having longer lasting bulbs is not a good idea...or at least not really finacially worth it.
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Re: Incandescent light
I think this types are light are the light s hat dod not brake like the negety saver ligh
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what the advantage is
There is no advantage - yet. The advantage is if they can get it to last for a long time, and still be more efficient at turning electricity into light. This is an interim research result, and you shouldn't judge the tech purely on the basis of its usefulness.
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