How do light bulbs go out?
In: Chemistry
If you mean “burn out”: the tungsten filament inside a bulb is relatively fragile. When you turn the bulb on and off the filament heats up then cools down. Each heat/cooling cycle will put stresses on the material and over time it will develop weak spots until the material just “breaks” in a spot. Bulbs that turn on/off frequently (like in your entrance hallway, or a bedside reading lamp) will (in general) burn out quicker than ones that are infrequently turned on or are left on for long periods. Of course the bulbs for special purposes like your car headlights or the bulb in your fridge are designed to different robustness standards.
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