Oznog
Active Member
stevez said:When a light bulb fails it does not always go to an open circuit right away. Every now and then when a light fails at home, I notice quite a flash followed by the opening of the circuit breaker. I have to presume that a significant amount of current was flowing, if only for a moment.
I remember 2 or 3 light bulbs that ran for an extended period- hours maybe- at a much greater intensity and almost a "silvery" light. Kind of pretty.
IIRC at least one was due to knocking over a desk lamp while it was working. I am certain the filament, which is sort of a spring, stretched out and then formed a tangle when it sprung back, leaving some of the filament shorted out of the current path.