Re:The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy
by sgillen on Monday March 05, 2018 @07:22PM
(#16525854)
I’m very amused by the fact that it took serious engineering effort to manufacture bulbs that were reliable during their lifetime but that would also burn out quickly.
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Interesting thing I learned was before WWII you could buy cold cathode light fixtures and get the local neon shop to make a lamp for it. Cold cathode lamps will last 20 years.
The light bulb manufacturers got those outlawed via the national electrical code. It's illegal to have any wiring in a residence over 1000. Except for radio's televisions and microwaves. Which means cold cathode lighting is outlawed. Cold cathode is basically just neon, which is similar to fluorescent except unlike fluorescent you don't have a hot filament to burn out. Both requires higher voltage to operate and results somewhat lower efficiency, but with 100,000 hour life span.
Later in the 1970's they also made sure that fluorescent lamps efficiency standards mandated high color temperature (blue) phosphors. In low light residential use high color temp makes everything looks like ass.
Everything old is new again: https://www.ryness.co.uk/press/what-are-the-benefits-of-cold...
FWIW, CCFLs were fairly common in backlighting for LCD TVs and monitors before LEDs took over.
You may be right but it should be considered that high voltages can cause x-rays in the right conditions. There could be a rationale behind it...