Patrick Martin wrote that he did not see why a CFL could not be built in the same envelope as an incandescent.
I think it's a matter of economics. There are thermal issues as well. Over the years since the introduction of the CFL, the diameter of the electronics module at the base has shrunk slightly. There's a lot of little stuff inside. As semiconductors go, power devices tend to be large, The area is necessary to keep current densities within reason. In the absence of process innovations, the more current you force through a chip of a given area, the hotter the chip gets. In addition, with less area to remove the heat, the hotter the chip gets. The hotter a chip runs, the sooner if will fail. Making CFLs that screw into the same sockets as incandescents is--by a longshot--not the whole story about making a more efficient incandescent-lamp replacement. If there were a way to make units that were true physical replacements for incandescents, I'm sure it would have happened by now. I imagine that the lamp manufacturers, GE, Sylvania, Philips, Siemens?, and Asian companies whose names I don't know are working on the problem, but I have not yet seen evidence that they have solved the problem. Maybe they have. If so, such bulbs will command a premium price for a long time. The manufacturers are not about to phase out their existing designs until they have paid for all of the design work and tooling that went into the existing generation. Remember, these guys are in an industry that has seen no fundamental advances in at least 75 years. Incremental advances, yes--fundamental advances, no. I'm sure it will take a while before the business models of industries that experience continuous rapid technological change permeate such a staid, old-line business. -- Dan Strassberg, [EMAIL PROTECTED] eFax 707-215-6367 _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
