A) Bulb - Function: protects inner components.
Material: made of soda-lime glass (hard glass to withstand higher temperatures). Reason: Transparent, relatively cheap, high melting point, easily molded. B) Filament - Function: conducts electricity and at high temperature emits light. Material: made of tungsten. Reason: high melting point, weak electrical conductor, strong heat conductor. C) Lead-In Wires - Function: they carry current from the Base to the filament. Material: made of copper from the Base (G) to the Stem Press (E) made of nickel plated copper from Stem Press (E) to Filament Reason: copper is the cheapest best conductor, D) Support Wires - Function: they support the Lead-in wires (C). Material: made of molybdenum. Reason: high ductility, high creep resistance, high recrystallization temp E) Stem Press - Function: to protect the inside wires and to lift the structure into an overall concave area to dissipate the light. Material: made of glass. Reason: cheap, durable. F) Exhaust Tubes - Function: for manufacturing purposes,it exhausts air of the bulb and inserts inert gases such as argon and nitrogen. Materials: made of brass/glass. Reason: cheap, easily obtained. G) Base - Function: where electrical current is received and one lead wire is soldered to the center, the other to top of the base. Material: made of aluminum or brass. Reason: cheap, light weight, and low coefficient. H) Gas - Function: to retard the evaporation of the filament. Material: a mixture of argon and nitrogen. Reason: the used gases retard the evaporation the most. I) Support Wires - Function: they support the filament. Material: made of molybdenum. Reason: high ductility, cheap. J) Glass Button - Function: used to hold support and tie wires in place. Material: made of same glass as Bulb (A). Reason: durable, easy to mold. K) Glass Rod - Function: used to support Glass Button (J). Material: made of same glass as Bulb (A). Reason: durable, easy to mold. L) Heat Deflector - Function: Used to reduce circulation of hot gases into the neck. Material: made of aluminum. Aluminum: absorbs heat well. M) Fuse - Function: protects the entire structure in case the filament breaks. Material: made of nickel, manganese, copper and/or silicon alloys. Reason: best/cheapest known materials for fuses. |