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The world's longest-burning lightbulb has been on since 1901. |
Science & Industry |
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| Unsurprisingly, the bulb's survival probably boils down to good craftsmanship. The thick glass was hand-blown, and the bulb has a thick, durable carbon filament, unlike the thin tungsten filaments that became standard later. That was all mounted by hand on a sturdy brass base. Additionally, it's filled with nitrogen gas, which is gentler than the argon and krypton gas used in later incandescents. The second longest burning lightbulb, located in Fort Worth, Texas, was made by the same company, Shelby Electric. The Centennial Bulb was hooked up to its own power source in 1976, and has lost power only once since then, for a little under 10 hours. Leaving it on 24/7 may have actually contributed to its longevity, since turning a bulb on and off frequently can damage the filament. The bulb also now burns at a steady 4 watts, much lower than its original 60 watts. | |
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Planned obsolescence started with lightbulbs. | |||||||||
| The Centennial Bulb's lifespan is impressive, but there's a reason few bulbs have come close. "Planned obsolescence" is the practice of designing products to need replacing. Today, we see it everywhere, especially in technology such as the latest smartphones, but it dates back about 100 years. In the mid-1920s, decades after the Centennial Light first switched on, an industry group called Phoebus engineered a 1,000-hour lifespan for incandescent bulbs so households would have to replace them more frequently. That money-making strategy became the standard from then on. | |||||||||
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