Light Bulb Last Day On Earth
Agathe Thies
LED is a highly energy-efficient lighting technology, and has the potential to fundamentally change the future of lighting in the United States. Residential LEDs -- especially ENERGY STAR rated products -- use at least 75% less energy, and last up to 25 times longer, than incandescent lighting.
LED lighting is available in a wide variety of home and industrial products, and the list is growing every year. The rapid development of LED technology has resulted in increased product availability, improved manufacturing efficiency, and lower prices. Below are some of the most common types of LED products.
The high efficiency and directional nature of LEDs makes them ideal for many industrial uses. LEDs are increasingly common in street lights, parking garage lighting, walkway and other outdoor area lighting, refrigerated case lighting, modular lighting, and task lighting.
Because LEDs are small and directional, they are ideal for lighting tight spaces such as countertops for cooking and reading recipes. Since there can be variation in light color and directionality, it is important to compare products to find the best fixture for your space.
Recessed downlights are commonly used in residential kitchens, hallways, and bathrooms, and in a number of office and commercial settings. DOE estimates there are more than 600 million recessed downlights installed in U.S. homes and businesses.
With performance improvements and dropping prices, LED lamps can affordably and effectively replace 40, 60, 75, and even 100 Watt incandescent bulbs. It's important to read the Lighting Facts Label to make sure the product is the right brightness and color for its intended use and location.
LEDs consume far less electricity than incandescent bulbs, and decorative LED light strings such as Christmas tree lights are no different. Not only do LED holiday lights consume less electricity, they also have the following advantages:
In the late 1800s, America had only begun to grasp the magical powers of science. America had always relied on engineering to build itself. From bridges and canals to railroads and telegraphs, America expanded across the continent slowly. Engineering played a huge role in spreading people and goods from one coast to the other. New methods of transportation and communication allowed the country to thrive economically. By the late 1880s, the country was in the last days of expanding on the continent and began to spread across the Pacific. We were beginning to produce more than we could consume.
Two years after the fair, Westinghouse again bested Morgan and Edison in winning the rights to the Niagara Falls power station. AC was the future. But at the fair, Tesla, the White City, electricity and lights stole the show. The lighting of the fair marked a turning point in the AC-DC battle to power the county. The Chicago Tribune dedicated much attention to this new but old science at the time.
In the next few years, AC power would become the standard for 80% of the country and most of the world. The fair had seen to that. However for Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla, they would be pushed aside by J.P.Morgan as Morgan consolidated patents and companies. While Morgan lost the battles to light the fair and harness Niagara Falls, Morgan took over electricity, but he had to use AC power to do it.
The Centennial Light is an incandescent light bulb, recognized as the oldest known continuously operating light bulb. It was first illuminated in 1901, and has only been turned off a few brief times since. It is located at 4550 East Avenue, Livermore, California, and is open to public viewing.[1] Due to its longevity, the bulb has been noted by The Guinness Book of World Records,[2] Ripley's Believe It or Not!, and General Electric.[3] The light has been the subject of many TV shows and news reports along with at least 4 books, and has its own website.
The handmade lightbulb was originally manufactured by the Shelby Electric Company of Shelby, Ohio, towards the end of the 1890s and donated to the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department in 1901. It has been relocated several times since and remains in the care of the fire department to this day. The bulb's longevity has been attributed to the high quality of its manufacture, it being seldom turned off, and its low wattage. Originally a 60-watt bulb, the light has for many years emitted dim light equivalent to a 4 watt bulb.
The Centennial Light was originally a 60-watt bulb, but has since dimmed significantly and is now as bright as a 4-watt bulb.[4][5][6] The hand-blown, carbon-filament common light bulb was invented by Adolphe Chaillet, a French engineer who filed a patent for this socket technology.[7] It was manufactured in Shelby, Ohio, by the Shelby Electric Company in the late 1890s;[4] many just like it still exist and can be found functioning.[8] According to Zylpha Bernal Beck, the bulb was donated to the Fire Department by her father, Dennis Bernal, in 1901.[4] Bernal owned the Livermore Power and Water Company and donated the bulb to the fire station when he sold the company. That story has been supported by firefighter volunteers of that era.[9]
Evidence suggests that the bulb has hung in at least four locations. It was originally hung in 1901 in a hose cart house on L Street,[9] then moved to a garage in downtown Livermore used by the fire and police departments.[10] The bulb was saved during the fire station's 1937 renovation, during which it was off for approximately one week.[4]
Its unusual longevity was first noticed in 1972 by reporter Mike Dunstan. After weeks of interviewing people who had lived in Livermore all their lives, he wrote "Light Bulb May Be World's Oldest", published in the Tri-Valley Herald. Dunstan contacted the Guinness Book of World Records, Ripley's Believe It or Not, and General Electric, who all confirmed it as the longest-lasting bulb known in existence.[11]
In 1976, the fire department moved to Fire Station #6 with the bulb; the bulb socket's cord was severed for fear that unscrewing the bulb could damage it. It was deprived of electricity for only 22 minutes during the transfer, which was made in a specially designed box and with full firetruck escort. An electrician was on hand to install the bulb into the new fire station's emergency generator. Ripley's Believe It Or Not stated that the short delay would not mar the bulb's continuous burning record. Since that move, the bulb has run continuously on an uninterruptible power supply; previously it had only been off the grid for short periods of time (e.g. a week in 1937 for a renovation and the odd power outage).[4] In 2001, the bulb's 100th birthday was celebrated with a community barbecue and live music.[4]
On the evening of May 20, 2013, the general public witnessed, through a dedicated webcam, that the bulb had apparently burned out. The next morning, an electrician was called in to confirm its status. It was determined that the bulb had not burned out when the dedicated power supply was bypassed, using an extension cord. The power supply was found to have been faulty. Approximately 9 hours and 45 minutes had passed before the light was reestablished.[12]
The bulb is cared for by the Centennial Light Bulb Committee, a partnership of the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department, Livermore Heritage Guild, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, and Sandia National Laboratories. The Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department plans to house and maintain the bulb for the rest of its life, regardless of length. When it does go out, they have no plans for it, although Ripley's Believe it or Not! has requested it for their museum.[4]
Several reasons have been cited for the bulb's extensive lifespan. Its continuous operation has largely eliminated the stresses associated with turning a light bulb on and off, the act of which causes the temperature of the bulb to increase and decrease. The bulb was made by hand, using a carbon filament (of greater thickness and strength than the tungsten filaments used in most modern lightbulbs) along with brass and glass components of high quality. The low wattage (originally 60 watts, now approximately 4) and high Nitrogen atmosphere inside the bulb have also contributed to its longevity.[13][14]
According to the fire chief, every few months a news outlet will publish a story on the bulb, generating visitors and general interest, then it will drop back into obscurity for a while. Dozens of magazines and newspapers have featured articles on the bulb.[17] The bulb has been visited and featured by many major news channels[17] in the United States, including NBC, ABC, Fox, CBS,[18] WB, CNN and NPR.[1] The bulb has received letters acknowledging and celebrating its longevity from the city of Shelby, Ohio,[19] the Alameda County Board of Supervisors,[20] the California State Assembly,[21] the California State Senate,[22] Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher,[23] Senator Barbara Boxer,[24] and President George W. Bush.[25] The bulb was featured on an episode of MythBusters on December 13, 2006,[26][27] in the PBS documentary Livermore and an episode of California's Gold with Huell Howser,[28] in an episode of 99% Invisible,[29] and in the web series 17776.[30][31]
As far as traditional electrical lighting goes, there's not a whole lot of variety in power supply: It comes from the grid. When you flip a switch to turn on your bedroom light, electrons start moving from the wall outlet into the conductive metal components of the lamp. Electrons flow through those components to complete a circuit, causing a bulb to light up (for complete details, see How Light Bulbs Work.
Alternative power sources are on the rise, though, and lighting is no exception. You'll find wind-powered lamps, like the streetlamp from Dutch design company Demakersvan, which has a sailcloth turbine that generates electricity in windy conditions. The Woods Solar Powered EZ-Tent uses roof-mounted solar panels to power strings of LEDs inside the tent when the sun goes down. Philips combines the two power sources in its prototype Light Blossom streetlamp, which gets electricity from solar panels when it's sunny and from a top-mounted wind turbine when it's not. And let's not forget the oldest power source of all: human labor. Devices like the Dynamo kinetic flashlight generate light when the user pumps a lever.
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