----- Original Message ----- From: "Erik Reuter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2003 8:37 PM Subject: Re: [Humor] RE: Question Regarding Religion and Atheism
> On Thu, Jun 26, 2003 at 08:13:52PM -0500, Robert Seeberger wrote: > > http://home.howstuffworks.com/christmas-lights2.htm > > > > Look for the picture with the shunt wire in the lamp. > > Thanks for posting that link. Looks like you called it right. It is > good to know how things work! But I'm still going to buy a set labeled > "parallel wiring" and take it apart this season. If that is what they > mean by parallel wiring, then I am going to write them a letter and > complain about misleading advertising. (Yes, the internal shunt is in > parallel with the filament, but that should really be labeled something > like "parallel shunted bulbs", otherwise someone might incorrectly > conclude that they could use old bulbs with the new "parallel" string > and still get the "parallel" effect) > > By the way, that shunt is interesting. How do you suppose burning a > coating off of a wire actually DECREASES the resistance? The only > explanation I can come up with is that the coating insulates the wire > and keeps it hot, and a hot wire has a higher resistance. > The way I read it is that when the filament burns through, all the amperage goes through the shunt raising its temperature past a critical threshold that causes the resistive coating to melt. Then the shunt is in total contact with the wire conductors thereby lowering the resistance since it is now in metal to metal contact. Generally speaking, metals have a lower resistance to current than more complex compounds (making an assumption about the coating here). [Not telling you anything you don't already know I'm sure<G>] I agree with you about the use of the word "parallel" being misleading in this case. Yes, its technically true, but its not what is expected at all when paired with the word "wiring". Reading yours and Julia's discussion today set off some warning buzzers for me. I might be an idiot here on the list, but I'm a pretty damn good electrician in meatspace. During our back and forth challenges I hit upon something close to the mark. To some degree it can be attributed to luck, but mostly its having been in the trenches working on a wide variety of devices and equipment, and having to make it work reliably. I try to apply the small amount of physics I know to the situations I am exposed to in order to model the way things work. Every hundred days or so Its going to work to my advantage in situations such as our discussion today. That's why I pay attention to the discussions onlist. Every hundred days or so I use something I learned from the list at work. xponent A Synergistic Effect Maru rob _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
