Gizmodo: light bulb

Reinvented Bulb Isn't Just a Bulb: It's an LED Light Source

Kit Eaton — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:15:00 EDT

"The lightbulb is dead. Long live CFL!" may be the chant sounding around the world as we switch to the energy-efficient fluorescent lighting, but this has its own problems—something the LED bulb from Frog Design is intended to fix. It's arguable the CFLs are bad for the environment, with plastic parts, electronics and mercury inside, and they emit a harsh light and can't be dimmed. LEDs are more efficient, potentially longer lasting, are dimmable and need less components. Frog has decided that to get consumers to adopt LEDs, and for ease of use, it's simplest to package them in a traditional glass enclosure, complete with screw-fit contacts. It's a design I've secretly thought about for ages: making it into a real product has just one difficulty... bright enough, white enough, long-lasting diffuse LEDs. [Yanko Design]

ESL Bulbs Are Better Than CFLs and LEDs, Says Company

Elaine Chow — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT

Another contender has stepped into the ring of energy efficient lighting: called ESL (electron-stimulated luminescence), this new type of bulb works by using accelerated electrons to light up a phosphor coating on the inside of a glass bulb. ESLs can turn on instantly, can work with dimmers, and creates a light quality that's similar to incandescents and halogens.

Vu1, the company behind the technology, says ESL bulbs don't contain the trace amounts of mercury in CFLs and don't require the manufacturing energy behind LEDs, making it better than both. The first screw in models, which produce 40 lumens per watt with a 6,000 hour lifetime, are expected to be available by September 2008. At $12 a bulb, they cost about the same as dimmable CFLs already on the market. [Vu1 via Cleantechnica]

Panasonic's Pa-Look Fluorescent Bulbs Get Lit Fast

Jason Chen — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:20:00 EDT

Not since Adam Frucci's last house party have we seen anything get lit as fast as Panasonic's Pa-Look fluorescent bulbs. These use a hybrid lighting method that makes for "instant bulb brightness," which is more convenient for bathrooms where you want to get light right away and not accidentally step on errant urine. Inside is a "quick lamp" that brings the goods 50 to 60% faster, and then cuts off when the regular fluorescent reaches optimum lighting. Fantastic for the slightly impatient. [Akihabara News]

107-Year-Old Bulb States the Case for Leaving Lights On

AddyDugdale — Sat, 10 May 2008 12:30:00 EDT

The LA Times has written a sweet little feature about Livermore Fire House's lightbulb that has been burning for 107 years without a break—unless you count the 22 minutes it took to transport the bulb from Fire Department HQ to Station No. 6 in 1979. That's almost a million hours' worth of low-wattage, you know. Unofficial keeper of the bulb, retired firefighter Tom Bramell reckons its longevity is down to old-fashioned craftsmanship. "I believe the bulb has stayed alive so many years because the makers gave it a perfect seal, so no air gets inside the bulb to help disintegrate the carbon filament. This bulb operates in a vacuum and it doesn't burn hot. That's the secret." [LA Times via Boing Boing]

Rechargeable Light Bulb Ignores the Existence of the Torch

Haroon Malik — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 05:15:00 EST

What do you do when the power goes out and you're stuck without a light to guide your urine safely into the lavatory? You could grab a torch as an illuminating aid, or you could screw convention and keep a rechargeable light bulb, named the Load, continually charged in case your power does go out. (Does that even ever happen anymore?) Who needs a battery dependent torch? Why not instead have an awkward, mains-leeching, portable light bulb?

On a semi plus note, the Load will provide you with 5-hours of light on a single charge, and is made of durable plastic, so chucking it around for funzies is an option. Perhaps I should not knock it too hard, it does look interesting, and it could make for a great prop at a Harry Potter themed party. Hmm, a Harry Potter themed party; would that not be the best themed party idea since dirty Disney house party escapades? Minnie Mouse looked hotter in cartoon form, this much I can assure you. [Yanko Design]

The 10 Steps to Dealing With a Broken Light Bulb According to the UK Government

Sean Fallon — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:20:16 EST

A detailed 10 step guide to dealing with broken light bulbs has been drawn up by the UK House of Commons Commission—an organization responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Parliamentary estate. Naturally, this had many taxpayers in an uproar. In fact, a spokesman for the Taxpayers' Alliance referred to the list as "ridiculous." He went on to gripe about how public officials are being paid to write "guidelines on how to use a dustpan and brush."

I can understand how they might be livid, but are super anal-retentive rules like this more necessary than we might think? Fluorescent bulbs contain mercury after all, and we all know that represents an element of danger. However, Nick Harvey, the Commission spokesman, said nothing of mercury in his response. Instead, he noted that the guidelines were necessary, because "there had been an incident where a light bulb had been broken and placed in a waste paper bin. Someone had picked it out and cut their finger." So it appears that a portion of the commission's £144 million budget is spent on boo-boo prevention. Nice. [Telegraph via NTDWA via Boing Boing]