Balafire: the strangest light bulb
Added 2024-11-15 23:21:53 +0000 UTCHave a really cool one for you today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHskIsOYZ8s
I read about this a long, long time ago and a few weeks ago it popped into my head again for a reason I cannot fathom. Luckily it did, though, and a couple of eBay searches later - here it is!
In a lot of ways, this video was surprising. There were many... connections that I had no idea were there, both in terms of this company's history, where their products ended up, and why they got started. It really seems like I found a long lost relative.
Anywho, I'll probably hold off on releasing this until Sunday. No particular reason why, but for now I hope you enjoy it!
Comments
My mother once bought a carbon-filament (or fake?) lamp on a flea market, somewhere in the late 1990s. It even had a blackened bulb, looked pretty cool, but didn't give that much light.
MrHammond
2024-11-29 19:33:45 +0000 UTCMinorly related, but wouldn't it be cool to examine how much humas exhale vs. inhale over a period of time, with the addition of carbon, and how much CO2 plants absorb.
Ian Clanton-Thuon
2024-11-27 07:07:33 +0000 UTCKind of want to build a fire mage cosplay built around this on the tip of the staff. Beyond that, seems like a real niche item.
Max Goldstein
2024-11-19 19:56:08 +0000 UTCI guess if you were being really pedantic you would say the current changes directions 100 or 120 times per second, twice per wave after all.
Lennart Sorensen
2024-11-17 16:59:21 +0000 UTCGreat video! I like these quick "no effort" ones. A quick trip to eBay suggests that your $100 for a Balafire comment was a tad on the low side!
Matt Deres
2024-11-16 14:19:40 +0000 UTCHe's mentioned on here a few times that the "Connections" in the title is an homage to the Burke series.
Matt Deres
2024-11-16 14:18:04 +0000 UTCThis would be SO fun to stare at while tripping. My color changing cync bulb might have some competition...
Sara Urban
2024-11-16 08:43:56 +0000 UTCYou may want to check out the 1970s BBC show "Connections" hosted by James Burke. It showed in a fascinating way how all these inventions built upon each other.
Big Car
2024-11-16 08:42:50 +0000 UTCHow enlightning! I like these light videos about lights!
J Ruonti
2024-11-16 06:55:21 +0000 UTCEerie face in the bulb at 6:48!
Amy Tobol
2024-11-16 06:48:18 +0000 UTCTry waving a magnet near the bulb!
Amy Tobol
2024-11-16 06:47:34 +0000 UTCI bet the filament would slow way down if you dimmed it!
Amy Tobol
2024-11-16 06:46:02 +0000 UTChttps://www.chicagotribune.com/1990/06/03/for-the-love-of-his-light/ Not only was the filament chemistry a tightly kept secret, but so was the bulb glass, which explains why they can't make it any more. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/news-journalonline/name/robert-kyp-obituary?id=20919524 Robert Kyp's obituary, he passed 09-JAN-2011 at 88, taking all those secrets with him.
Crash Cash
2024-11-16 06:21:39 +0000 UTCWow. These were my grandmother's go-to Christmas decoration. How timely. And yes, she had several of The Sunbeam Toasters.
Crash Cash
2024-11-16 05:52:59 +0000 UTCHave you tried the Sim-Flame with the Balafire or Gas Glo? Seems like the dimming would make some cool flame effects
Rick Egli
2024-11-16 04:54:24 +0000 UTCI subscribe to your Patreon to get a jump on things like this before you drive the eBay auctions up ππ
Lonely Roman Noise
2024-11-16 04:14:55 +0000 UTCfantastic! i love learning about obscure illumination devices. thanks Alec
NeonPreservation
2024-11-16 03:07:42 +0000 UTCNice touch at the very end.
Julian Gonggrijp
2024-11-16 00:38:58 +0000 UTCYes
Cooper Schwartz
2024-11-16 00:26:28 +0000 UTCI remember seeing these as a kid and I knew immediately how they worked, due to a combination of my electronics nerdery and the fact that the magnets in them looked exactly like some alnico magnets I had.
Circuitmike
2024-11-16 00:15:57 +0000 UTCNothing says "Technology Connections" like that "Stare Of Doom" into the mirrored surface of the bulb.ππ
Mark Hesse
2024-11-15 23:54:41 +0000 UTCItβs just from vibrations from the external forces since the light filament is so thin. Even a normal incandescent light does this
Tdub23
2024-11-15 23:43:48 +0000 UTCVery cool!!! I vaguely remember those!
Markintosh
2024-11-15 23:40:01 +0000 UTCHow come the filament in the gas glo is already vibrating even even off?
Timst
2024-11-15 23:38:22 +0000 UTCA perfect no effort november. Great video and interesting subject.
Simon Priisholm
2024-11-15 23:34:57 +0000 UTC
