The light bulb is surely one of the most useful inventions in the history of mankind. These light bulbs are nearly everywhere, whether it’s your home, school, workspace, or hospital, you will find these magical lights everywhere.
Light bulbs are so widespread that we often forget how useful these little devices are, and how they actually work.
Have you ever wondered, how do these light bulbs work?
We hope you have never thought about the working of the light bulbs before, as we take them for granted.
In this blog post, we have explained how incandescent light bulbs and illustrated different parts of the incandescent light bulb.
So, let’s jump into the details.
How Does an Incandescent Bulb Produce Light?
Although, there are a few working parts of an incandescent bulb, still not as simple as it seems.
Being invented in 1870, the incandescent light bulb is still a miracle, even in this modern age.
The Incandescent light bulb works on a simple principle of science, called the Incandescent.
This procedure involves the conversion of electrical energy into heat energy to make light energy.
There is a very thin wire with high-melting-point (Filament) used in the incandescent bulbs. When the electricity passes through the filament, it gets passed to a neutral wire.
When the electricity passes through this thin wire, it gets heated, and as a result, the wire (filament) starts glowing.
The most common electrical filament used in incandescent bulbs is tungsten, which is a very high-quality filament with a very high melting point.
The interesting part is, only 3% of the electrical energy is converted into light energy, and the rest of the energy is converted into heat energy.
It’s the reason, LED bulbs are way more economical as compared to conventional incandescent bulbs.
Since the filament of the incandescent bulb needs to be protected. Therefore, there is a special glass enclosure used that protects the filament of the bulb from the outer environment.
Moreover, the inside of the bulb is vacuumed to keep it protected from any reaction, and therefore it increases the lifespan of the incandescent bulbs.
If the inside of the bulb is not vacuumed, there is a noble gas used inside to keep the environment nonreactive.
If there was a reactive gas used inside the glass, the filament would get destroyed by the heat.
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Kelvin Color Temperature of Incandescent Light Bulbs
Kelvin is the standard unit of the thermodynamic temperature. The Kelvin temperature of the light indicates the warmness or coolness of the light.
The lights above 5000K are considered cool lights, while the lights with a color temperature of less than 5000K are considered are warm colors.
The 2000K is considered the warmest color, emitting the same light temperature as the candlelight, and on the other hand, the 10000K is considered the coolest color, the same as a bright clear sky.
The Incandescent light bulbs have a bright yellowish color, ranging from 2600K-3500K. Thus offering a dark, and warm light.
We have also given below the color temperature range for different light bulbs below.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Are Incandescent Bulbs Dimmable?
Yes, the Incandescent Bulbs are fully dimmable. Since the amount of light produced by the incandescent bulb depends directly upon the supply of the electric current, you can easily control the light by increasing or decreasing the amount of current.
Are Incandescent Bulbs Waterproof?
No, the Incandescent Bulbs are not waterproof at all. If you put in even a few drops of water on an incandescent bulb, it will blow out. Therefore, these bulbs are not used outdoors.
What is the Lifespan of Incandescent Light Bulbs?
The average lifespan of Incandescent Bulbs is anything between 1000-3000 hours. Although some bulbs can last much longer, the average life for these bulbs is anywhere between 1500-2000hours.
What Filament is Used in the Incandescent Light Bulbs?
The filament is the thin-wire used in Incandescent Light Bulbs. This filament wire should be able to bear high-temperature and light-up at high-temperatures. The typical material used as filament in incandescent light bulbs is tungsten.
Are Incandescent Light Bulbs Energy-Efficient?
Sadly, incandescent light bulbs are not very energy efficient. These light bulbs convert the electrical energy into heat energy, and when the filament gets heated up, it emits light energy. A lot of energy gets wasted in the form of heat in this process, which makes it less energy efficient.
How Much Heat Incandescent Light Bulbs Produce?
The incandescent bulbs convert the electricity into heat energy in order to glow the light bulb.
97% of this light electricity gets wasted in the form of heat energy, and only 3% of this electrical energy is being converted into light.
Thus, it produces a bunch of heat-energy. Typically, a 60W incandescent bulb can produce as much as 4000F of heat.
Conclusion
The incandescent light bulb is surely one of the most useful inventions in the history of mankind. These bulbs are everywhere, from your homes to your workplace.
These light bulbs are so common that we often forget the working procedure. Therefore, we have completely elaborated on the working procedure.
If you still have any questions in mind, feel free to ask in the comments section below.
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