Return of incandescent light bulbs

[LockH]

It's back... as MIT makes them more efficient than LEDs:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/...nt-light-bulbs-as-mit-makes-them-more-effici/

(The first prototype. Pic from MIT)

Researchers at MIT have shown that by surrounding the filament with a special crystal structure in the glass they can bounce back the energy which is usually lost in heat, while still allowing the light through.

... and

Usually traditional light bulbs are only about five per cent efficient, with 95 per cent of the energy being lost to the atmosphere. In comparison LED or florescent bulbs manage around 14 per cent efficiency. But the scientists believe that the new bulb could reach efficiency levels of 40 per cent.

8)

 

[Hillhater]

Researchers at MIT have shown that by surrounding the filament with a special crystal structure in the glass they can bounce back the energy which is usually lost in heat, while still allowing the light through.

So where does all this heat energy go to when it has been "bounced back" ?

... and

Usually traditional light bulbs are only about five per cent efficient, with 95 per cent of the energy being lost to the atmosphere. In comparison LED or florescent bulbs manage around 14 per cent efficiency. But the scientists believe that the new bulb could reach efficiency levels of 40 per cent.

Hmm ? ..LED only 14% efficient ?....gonna' have to recheck that data !
A LED may not be very efficient at converting energy (watts) into light, but....
A Incandecent globe uses 7 times the watts as a LED for the same light output !

There is so much misleading and false statements in that article that it looks like it was produced by a University research team !
....oh yes,...that explains it ! .. A funding pitch !

 

[LockH]

So where does all this heat energy go to when it has been "bounced back" ?

They refer to the technique as ‘recycling light’ because the energy which would usually escape into the air is redirected back to the filament where it can create new light.

....oh yes,...that explains it ! .. A funding pitch !

Hehe...

 

[Alan B]

There are light bulbs that use IR reflective material to reduce the heat loss from the filament, so it takes less energy to maintain the temperature. It works, to some degree.

Perhaps they are able to do it better, but it is not fundamentally new.

 

[spinningmagnets]

years ago on an "off grid survival" forum I was researching, they called filament bulbs "room heaters" that gave off some light as a by product...

They were early adopters of Compact fluorescents, and then LEDS, even when they were still new and expensive. They called reducing your watt-usage "installing more negawatts". Like how Colin Chapman said to "add lightness" to his racecars.

 

[Hillhater]

I guess for most folks in the Northern Hemisphere, in the evenings when they need the lights they usually need some heating also, so the heat from an incandescent bulb is not wasted , but becomes part of the heat requirement ..so no big efficiency loss really ?
...unless the lighting is those stylish "downlighters" where the heat would just be lost straight up into the roof space !

 

[Dauntless]

What about when the light is outside?

 

[teklektik]

Ahhh - the yummy smell of tiny cakes and brownies cooking in the sibling's Easy Bake Oven.....

The original toy used an ordinary incandescent light bulb as a heat source; current versions use a true heating element.
Kenner sold 500,000 Easy-Bake Ovens in the first year of production.
By 1997, more than 16 million Easy-Bake Ovens (in 11 models) had been sold.

 

[Hillhater]

Maybe they can develop a LED powered "Slow cooker" version ? :lol:

 

[LockH]

hehe... TONS of energy wasted as "light pollution" these daze:

 

[friendly1uk]

That image can't be right. The only highly lit area in the southern hemisphere is in the ocean. Near where the Falkland islanders grow sheep. Looking northward it hints at being complied by someone in Cali. While the vertical line through north America looks like one of the shots was taken during the day. The shot of the east coast encompasses Europe who's east coast looks like the beach goes on till Japan.

It's just not right

 

[LockH]

hehe... Lots of closeup pics... this from 2011:

`Mirican folks car get a closeup too:

 

[Hillhater]

Whilst some will sware its genuine , Its not likely to be a true satelite image of light emmissions.
Most likely a Compiled image using either population density or some data of power usage per sq mile or similar.

 

[LockH]

Istanbul in Turkey.

 

[LockH]

Honolulu

 

[LockH]

Vancouver

 

[LockH]

City hall in downtown Toronto.

... and on and on. One ebiker at least protests "Free power to recharge ebikes!"

(hehe)

 

[Samd]

I'd like to go back to incandecent. I have trouble sleeping when i spend all day under white lights.
My Darwinian brain needs to be lit by something with frequencies similar to a campfire. Then I sleep like a baby.

 

[friendly1uk]

It's the blue end of the spectrum that wakes us and effects mood.

That vertical line through North America is also present on that gif image. Is there a reason? Being from the UK, I think it's probably about as far as we could be arsed to walk
There is a big crack somewhere there isn't there? A river gorge. I just don't know..

 

[Dauntless]

The less like a campfire the light is, the more efficient. And the easier it is to see in.

What you call light "Pollution" is nonetheless an awe inspiring sight. And unlike the more normal pollution, it's cleaned up as soon as the lights go off.

 

[amberwolf]

I'd like to go back to incandecent. I have trouble sleeping when i spend all day under white lights.
My Darwinian brain needs to be lit by something with frequencies similar to a campfire. Then I sleep like a baby.

At least for computer monitors, you can install F.lux to dim and alter the color of the screen to emulate the sunlight pattern outside. Helps me with not staying up all night even if I'm using the computer (I can doze off fine even so). Without it, I'll only doze off when totally exhausted.

Probably is a version for phones and stuff too, and I have run across lighting for rooms and such that also can do this. Some is LED with color to change, some is just auto-dimming incandescents, etc.

 

[LockH]

Hehe... "ES earch found 11 matches: +"light pollution"". So here's one more...

"Light Pollution Is Waking Trees Up Early for Spring"
http://www.livescience.com/55222-light-pollution-causing-early-budding-trees.html

Includes stuff like:

Domino effect
Ffrench-Constant came to be interested in trees by way of insects. He studies the winter moth caterpillar (Operophtera brumata), which relies on early spring leaves for sustenance.

and

Light pollution is already known to directly alter behavior in animals like bats and sea turtles.

and

Global light pollution has been increasing by about 6 percent a year since 1947

Dang.