On: The Biggest Thing Since the Light Bulb

[jckt]

Talking just about the incandescent ("classic") light bulb's life...isn't its life limited by the policy of "planned obsolescence"? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence

Are there any lightbulb engineers on HN that can confirm that lightbulbs are indeed, so to speak, "made to fail"? Or is it actually really difficult to make a long-lasting lightbulb?

[sbierwagen → jckt]

It's .046mm tungsten wire that's heated hot enough to glow white. You try and make it durable.

You can buy "rough service" light bulbs: http://www.bulborama.com/Turbo-Life-20-000-Hour-Light-Bulbs-...

They are, of course, much more expensive per-unit.

[ars → jckt]

See what I wrote here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5329833

You can pick any longevity you like - it's a straight tradeoff of energy efficiency.