Light Bulbs Discription

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PARTS OF A LIGHT BULB A light bulb has 3 main parts,a metal base that conducts electricity A thin wie called a filamentand a glass bulb that surrounds and protects the filament How It Works 1. When a bulb is screwed into an electrical socket, it creates a circuit, or loop, which allows electricity to flow into the bulb and through the filament. The filament is made of a metal called tungsten that doesn't let the electricity flow very easily, creating what is known as electrical resistance. What Makes the Light? 2. When the electricity pushes its way through the filament, the filament heats up and gets so hot that it begins to glow. The filament glows brightly enough to create light. Brightness 3. Some light bulbs are brighter than others depending on how much resistance the tungsten filament provides. You can tell how bright a light bulb is going to be because it has a number rating, expressed in watts. (Watts are a measure of energy used and are named after inventor James Watt.) The higher the number of watts, the more electricity the bulb uses and the brighter the light will be. New Kinds of Light Bulbs 4. One problem with these light bulbs is that they aren't as efficient as they could be, which means that they use a lot of electricity compared to the amount of light they produce. To solve this problem, light bulb manufacturers now make light bulbs called compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs. CFLs are more efficient because instead of pushing electricity through a wire, they allow the electricity to flow through a glass tube and light up a combination gas and chemicals called argon and phosphor. Light Bulb Safety 5. Modern light bulbs and CFLs are safer than the old candles and lamps they replaced, but they still need to be handled carefully. If a regular light bulb breaks there will be sharp glass that needs to be cleaned up. It can

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