"steve" <stevesemple@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message >I was reading
a web site that has information about light bulbs. Here > is a
quote relating to a question I wanted to ask. > -- Quote --- >
"Reducing the voltage applied to a light bulb will reduce the
filament > temperature, resulting in a dramatic increase in life
expectancy. > One device sold to do this is an ordinary silicon
diode built into a > cap that is made to stick to the base of a
light bulb. A diode lets > current through in only one
direction, causing the bulb to get power > only 50 percent of
the time if it is operated on AC. This effectively > reduces the
applied voltage by about 30 percent. (Reducing the voltage > to
its original value times the square root of .5 results in the
same > power consumption as applying full voltage half the
time.) The life > expectancy is increased very dramatically.
However, the power > consumption is reduced by about 40 percent
(not 50 since the cooler > filament has less resistance) and
light output is reduced by