The lightbulb that's burned for 120 years draws four watts
It is also barely lit: the nominally 60-watt lamp draws four watts, according to electronics blogger Maurycy's post on tungsten filaments. To put a bulb's peak emission in visible light, Maurycy writes, the filament would have to run near 5,700°C, roughly the sun's surface temperature; tungsten melts at 3,422°C. Every bulb therefore radiates mostly infrared, and a hotter filament gives much more light while evaporating away sooner.
- ▪It is also barely lit: the nominally 60-watt lamp draws four watts, according to electronics blogger Maurycy's post on tungsten filaments.
- ▪To put a bulb's peak emission in visible light, Maurycy writes, the filament would have to run near 5,700°C, roughly the sun's surface temperature; tungsten melts at 3,422°C.
- ▪Every bulb therefore radiates mostly infrared, and a hotter filament gives much more light while evaporating away sooner.
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| Original publisher | Boing Boing |
| Canonical URL | https://boingboing.net/2026/08/02/oldest-lightbulb-four-watts.html |
| Publication time | Sun, 02 Aug 2026 17:04:18 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-08-02T17:45:40.447Z |
| Last seen | 2026-08-02T17:45:40.447Z |
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| Summary source text | contentText |
| Citation coverage | Summary is a WeSearch-generated derivative; primary citation is the original publisher URL. |
| Cluster | unVu6ZXpE-Io · 1 stories |
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| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
The lightbulb that's burned for 120 years draws four watts Ellsworth Toohey 10:04 am Sun Aug 2, 2026 Phoebus cartel — Rjaerial / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) A lightbulb in a Livermore, California fire station has burned for more than 120 years, past a million hours, and it is the stock proof that manufacturers once colluded to make bulbs burn out. It is also barely lit: the nominally 60-watt lamp draws four watts, according to electronics blogger Maurycy's post on tungsten filaments. To put a bulb's peak emission in visible light, Maurycy writes, the filament would have to run near 5,700°C, roughly the sun's surface temperature; tungsten melts at 3,422°C. Every bulb therefore radiates mostly infrared, and a hotter filament gives much more light while evaporating away sooner.
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