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Question
Solution
Construction and working of filament bulb
List of materials used:
Light bulbs have two metal contacts, which connect to the ends of an electrical circuit. The metal contacts are attached to two stiff wires, which are attached to a thin metal filament. The filament sits in the middle of the bulb, held up by a glass mount. The wires and the filament are housed in a glass bulb, which is filled with an inert gas, such as argon.
As the electrons zip along through the filament, they are constantly bumping into the atoms that make up the filament. The energy of each impact vibrates an atom -- in other words, the current heats the atoms up.
Metal atoms release mostly infrared light photons, which are invisible to the human eye. But if they are heated to a high enough level -- around 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit in the case of a light bulb -- they will emit a good deal of visible light.
Tungsten is used in nearly all incandescent light bulbs because it is an ideal filament material.
In a modern light bulb, inert gases, typically argon, greatly reduce this loss of tungsten. At extreme temperatures, the occasional tungsten atom vibrates enough to detach from the atoms around it and flies into the air resulting in its evaporation. In the rpesence of argon gas around it, the chances are that it will collide with an argon atom and bounce right back toward the filament, where it will rejoin the solid structure. Also since inert gases normally don't react with other elements, there is no chance of the elements combining in a combustion reaction.
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