h a l f b a k e r yA riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a rich, flaky crust
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square bulb
square, well cuboid I suppose, shaped light bulb.. | |
so that when you are standing atop a ladder and you put the lightbulb down on the top step while you grapple with the flex, shade etc, the damn thing don't roll off!
Compact fluorescent bulbs
http://www.city.davis.ca.us/DEEP/cfl.cfm Most models have flat sides. And you'll have to change them less frequently. [waugsqueke, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]
Use LEDs
http://www.nytimes....ircuits/08lite.html They're mostly flat. [Account needed to see article, but it's free and you can always enter a bogus email if you don't like being watched.] [DrCurry, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]
http://www.autopart...---APC403651HL.html
http://www.autopart...---APC403651HL.html Find out here. [Klaatu, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]
faceted!
http://www.angelfir...ts/nilcofaceted.htm but you knew the round shape was not the only one possible. [DadManWalking, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]
sorry, led you astray...
http://www.collecto....com/fa/fa015.shtml it is fusing and slumping techniques that I should have said, not floating glass. whoops! [po, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]
hole-y ladders
http://www.wernerladder.com/ ladders with holes in the top step for errant bulbs [rogerdna, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]
The Beer Helmet
http://www.twistedg...g/items/item287.htm Always wear the appropriate safety gear for the job. [Canuck, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]
Spectral Power Distribution Curves
http://www.soluxtli.com/new/spectrum.htm for [bh] & [bp] [Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]
Includes compact fluorescent bulb.
http://cc.joensuu.f...io/lamps_plain.html [Worldgineer, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]
(?) How many men does it take to change a lightbulb?
http://www.crossroa...09-7-03%20mouth.htm Find out here. [Klaatu, Oct 05 2004]
[link]
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The other day I was wondering why they don't make all bottles square. Seems you would save a fortune on shipping. Probably the cost of making the bottles square outweighs it. |
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You can put spotlights on their head, though -- that's most of the lighting in new construction in the US. |
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my friend was only telling me about *glass floating* the other day, I forget what was involved though... |
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//*glass floating* // That's for really flat glass, won't roll either, but its hard to make bulbs from flat glass. |
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You could hold the bulb in your mouth, I mean just the socket not the whole thing. Remember to remove any moisture from the socket before you put it in, or there will be arcing and a big stink the first time you turn it on. |
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//You could hold the bulb in your mouth// ? eh? how big do you think my... oh forget it. |
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re: glass floating, she was telling me that you could get shaped glass that way - I will need to read up on it. |
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but is the craft of doing it - floating glass/glass floating? |
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<thinks> is there an extreme sport lurking in there somewhere? |
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Can you put a square bulb in a round hole? I like the notion. They'd be fun to break, too. (I don't know why I said that...) |
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I despise float glass. Its so...so...twentieth century. I hanker after the romantic distortion of leaded glass panes.
And gas lights.
And the clack of hooves on cobblestones.
Square bulbs? Ah well, if you must.
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i like it, [po].....i always like the look of square things to the look of round ones.....they are so sleek... |
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interior designers run their customers through a little test to see if they are a "line person" or a "circle person" to help with the design process. |
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I also like the shape of "quare" things! + |
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IKEA would be the first to stock them: KUBIS, they'd be called. |
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babyh, how does that test go? |
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[po] i am not sure of the details, but it is just a series of questions, and senarios...pick A or B type of things.....i can get details if you want..? |
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hah!. I watched a tv programme a while ago about an artist who drew what he imagined was the perfect line - this memory loss may keep me awake for hours now... thank you tsuka. |
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When this is baked, I will nevermore hear the sound of "chxzztpop! tinkle tinkle tinkle...Oh @#%!!" while I stand on a ladder, changing bulbs. As a glassblower, I can say this is entirely feasible. The vacuum in the glass would require a heavier bulb at a higher co$t, but I have broken so many bulbs that I would pay the extra. A side benefit would be that with square faces to grasp the bulb, it should be easier for the elderly or weak to change bulbs. [+] |
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You also need a motorized stepladder on wheels for screwing without twisting your wrist. |
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Once in a lifetime, so far. |
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Use compact fluorescents. They won't roll off. |
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...and they give off heinous light. |
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(RT) All of them... only one to actually do it but the rest to offer their point of view on how they would have done it or if the rest of the world is ready for the way it was done.
Kind of like, there's more than one way to skin a cat, but what is the one way?
Square bulbs make too much sense. I've noticed that when something is that easy and sensible there are all kinds of reasons why no one has done it. So until it gets done ~ use a little square box to set the bulb in and then while you're putting the new bulb in you have somewhere to set the old one. (And don't wait too long to contact some of the bulb makers to generate their interest.) |
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Perhaps if there were a bump of some kind on the small screw end of the bulb, built into the metal, something could be done about this without too much hassle. |
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Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the bulbs are round because light rays travel in straight lines from the filament. Having the bulb round evenly distributes the light in a room. A square bulb will not work in the same fashion. Although I like the fact that it would be easier to install square bulbs when your hands are tied, I gotta give you a [-] |
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I would have to agree with [v0rtexx]. Any other shape than spherical would give distortion to the emitted light pattern. Also, a sphere is naturally the strongest shape, (why are bubbles shaped so?) and so uses less glass. |
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I would like to experience the light emitted from a square bulb nonetheless..it might be mmmm romantic. |
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Square light bulbs might create a whole new revenue stream for the feng shui fakers - oops I mean "consultants" - out there. Since most people have rectangular rooms there is a difficult choice to be made - to align the corners of the bulbs with the corners of the rooms or not? I suspect that a number of schemes will be suggested such as pointing the corners at the north/south/east/west compass points; or one of them at the magnetic pole; or 45 degrees away from the room corners; or one at the sunrise etc. It's so confusing I'll have to sit in the dark while I make up my mind - thanks a lot for complicating my life [po]! |
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// ...and they give off heinous light // |
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Well, with the rolling-off solved, she'll need something else to complain about. |
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Talking of floating glass (well UB was ages ago), I went on a tour round Pilkingtons a few years ago and at one point they showed us the oven where the glass was floating on it's lake of molten tin. To look inside they gave us a kind of welder's mask with a panel of what appeared to be black stone where the eye slit should be. No light came through it at all, even when turned to the sun. When we peered through the viewing hole in the oven with the mask on we could see the lake of glass perfectly, it was even still a bit too bright for comfort. Erm.... yes. That was some bright molten glass and tin, I can tell ya. |
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After walking through a home improvement store the other day, I was amazed at how many bulb types and shapes are commercially available. I don't think making a square bulb is a limitation of the industrial process, just the creative one. A croissant for you! |
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roger dna ? thats quite a thought! |
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Why reinvent the light bulb when the problem is obviously the top of the stepladder? What we need is to mandate a circular hole be provided in the top step (which, oddly enough, is almost always "not a step" according to safety guidelines) of all stepladders. The hole must be of sufficient size to accomodate the neck of a standard light bulb. Viola! Your bulb will no longer roll off and break into smithereens upon impact with the floor, or a lower rung of the ladder, unless you really, really want it to. |
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Great idea [Canuck]. Why not add female threads to the hole in the top step so it could be screwed in. That way, when you fall and the ladder tips over, the bulb will remain firmly attached to the ladder. The broken leg will be enough pain without adding bleeding cuts to the mix. |
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[po], I didn't think "roger dna" would raise an eyebrow around here. I wish there were a sordid story behind the username. Give me a day or two, and I'll think of one. Or better, someone else can think of one, and I'll adopt it for my own. |
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[Canuck], many commercial ladders do come with holes in the top step, see link. I'd like a ladder with a cupholder on the top step, so I wouldn't have to step down for a drink. |
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o.k. roger, you've had long enough |
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Roger that, [roger]. In my semi-considerable life span I, my elf have owned one or two non-commercial residential-type stepladders with a pair of holes, albeit not situated on the top (non-)step, but rather on the flip-down rack/paint can holder that always seems to be getting in the way just when you need to fold the ladder up in a hurry, but that's another gripe. |
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A simple cup holder might not suffice. I suggest you wear one of those hats that hold a pair of canned beverages and use strategically-placed platic tubing to deliver the refreshing liquid to your parched oral cavity (see link). Since the hat is made from a (semi-)hard plastic, you could claim it was required protective headgear for gruelling manual labour like ladder-climbing and bulb-changing. |
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Every time I have a halfbaked flash of inspiration, I keep envisaging a square lightbulb coming on above my head, like a cartoon. + |
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Getting back to the floating glass... that's how Jesus was able to walk on water. |
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Jesus was made of glass or tin? |
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[UB] //They are very rare here; We use the bayonet cap fittings, unless the light fixture is imported.// |
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Well, that kills a whole family of jokes. |
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Q: How many Harvard graduates does it take to insert a lightbulb?
A: One, he holds the bulb and the world turns one quarter turn and pushes up slightly to seat the the pins. |
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//High frequency fluorescents are supposed to be the most appealing type of natural light, so I thought// |
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fluorescent lights are actually bad for you. They suck out nutrients in your skin and actually burn skin cells, thus making your skin a yellow-ish colour. But they do no "permanent" damage so they are still considered safe. And cheap, this is why they are used in big office buildings |
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One sordid story, comping up! [see the rogerdna HB user page] |
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not camping up then? oh sorry! |
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//They suck out nutrients in your skin and actually burn skin cells, thus making your skin a yellow-ish colour.// [bh], please cite a source for this. Sounds like urban legend fodder. |
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Looks to me like UV-A (320-400 nm) is similar for flourescent and incandescent bulbs (link). UV-B (290-320 nm), which is more skin-penetrating is all but non-existant in the flourescents. |
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I meant to be directing your attention to the "Philips PL 11W/827 white compact fluorescent lamp". |
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I have taken square light emitting diodes out of old radios and computers. But I guess they have a few square flashlights at K-Mart. |
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