I’ve always thought how awesome it looks when light bulbs are seen lighting in slow mo. It gives me an eerie sensation that resembles the same feelings I get when I think of life as a glimpse we experience very slowly. The photons traveling through a path and cease like people do with their lives. Revealing in every sense of the word.
Images: Photo via Carl Suurmond GIF via axist
Light bulbs have a very simple structure. At the base, they have two metal contacts, which connect to the ends of an electrical circuit.
The metal contacts are attached to two stiff wires, which are attached to a thin metal filament. The filament sits in the middle of the bulb, held up by a glass mount. The wires and the filament are housed in a glass bulb, which is filled with an inert gas, such as argon.
When the bulb is hooked up to a power supply, an electric current flows from one contact to the other, through the wires and the filament. Electric current in a solid conductor is the mass movement of free electrons (electrons that are not tightly bound to an atom) from a negatively charged area to a positively charged area.
As the electrons zip along through the filament, they are constantly bumping into the atoms that make up the filament. The energy of each impact vibrates an atom — in other words, the current heats the atoms up. A thinner conductor heats up more easily than a thicker conductor because it is more resistant to the movement of electrons.
Bound electrons in the vibrating atoms may be boosted temporarily to a higher energy level. When they fall back to their normal levels, the electrons release the extra energy in the form of photons. Metal atoms release mostly infrared light photons, which are invisible to the human eye. But if they are heated to a high enough level — around 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,200 degrees C) in the case of a light bulb — they will emit a good deal of visible light.
Let’s keep ourselves illuminated and see HowStuffWorks
There was a time when search engines opened new vistas for us. Now, they hold up a mirror to us, giving us back a reflection of ourselves. Search has become a tool for self-absorption.
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Students need to be taught to “think like historians” not because they will become professional historians but precisely because most won’t. The goals of school history are not vocational but to prepare students to tolerate complexity, to adapt to new situations, and to resist the first answer that comes to mind.
What’s Up With “Blonde” and “Blond”?
- Kudos to Merriam-Webster for being one of the only online dictionaries to indicate the distinction between “blonde” and “blond”;
- “Blond” comes from French, in which it has masculine and feminine forms;
- Will you be ridiculed if you don’t use “blonde” and “blond” in their gender-specific forms? Probably not. Is it cool to know the difference? Definitely.
- Barbie & Ken GIF source: THAT’S ABSURD
Books that own my soul → The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.
In Focus: Violent Protests in India Over Rape Case
Last week, in New Delhi, India, news stories of a horrific gang rape spread quickly, igniting widespread outrage. A 23 year old woman was attacked by six men on a moving bus and brutalized for 45 minutes, in the most recent and alarming of several high-profile incidents. Protesters have taken to the streets to demonstrate against the growing incidence of rape, and its slow and ineffective prosecution. Riot police have responded, dispersing crowds with forceful tactics including water cannons, batons, and tear gas. India’s government has now ordered a special inquiry into the incident to identify any negligence or errors on the part of police.
See more. [Images: AP, Getty, Reuters]
Stunning behind-the-scenes photos of Picasso painting with light. Also see this mesmerizing footage of Picasso painting on glass with a camera rolling on the other side.
