Arthur Frank writes:

>This makes me think of something that someone told me when I was younger
>(and, who knows, it might actually be true, but it sounds like an urban
>legend conspiracy theory sort of thing) that we currently have the
>technology to make lightbulbs that never burn out, but that lightbulb
>companies don't want to manufacture them because once your house is full of
>these things you'll never need to buy lightbulbs again.

You almost certainly have some in your house right now. If you run
incandescent bulbs at a lower voltage than it's designed for, and if you
leave it on all the time or use a soft-start circuit, most  will last
indefinitely. You just have to be willing to accept the reduced
efficiency and lower light output. This is a pretty standard trick, in
fact. I think I've seen step-down transformers in industrial catalogs
that are designed for this application -- to run lighting strings in
places where lamp replacement is expensive or hazardous.

But the longevity-for-efficiency trade-off is a nice metaphor. You don't
get something for nothing, even with the HPe3000.

-- Bruce


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