If you study electrical transients in power systems, you find that, once arcing occurs, the system can become resonant. Every half cycle the voltage can double depending on the LRC values of the filament. I suspect the those lamps which explode have coiled tungsten alloy filaments which exhibit both real and reactive loads. The arcing noise could hit a resonant frequency sending the voltage skyrocketing.
Just my opinion, I could be wrong. Terry On 10/1/07, Stephen A. Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Jones Beene wrote: > > Most light bulbs fail - "not with a bang but with a whimper" as TSE > > might have opined, but occasionally one fails with a surprisingly > > robust explosion. Why? > I've personally heard of two cases in which an ordinary incandescent > bulb failed by exploding (glass all over). Both were perfectly innocent > applications; one was a reading lamp over a bed, the other was a Luxo > lamp in an office. Didn't happen to witness either one. From > descriptions of the events, though, I understand that both were > functioning normally at the time, and what's more, neither exploded on > turn-on -- both bulbs burst after the lamp had been lit for some time. > > I heard more details on the Luxo lamp incident: It was stationary and > undisturbed at the time, when it suddenly sprayed glass all over a > keyboard which was beneath it. > > Dunno what made them let go like that, but it certainly was something a > little stronger than the usual "arc which vaporizes the filament" which > causes the blue flash and the "pop" sound when a filament breaks during > one of the AC peaks. (Filament breaks at a zero crossing => there won't > be an arc, and there won't be a blue flash, and there won't be a "pop", > of course.) > > > Usually this is the result of a "current surge" in the house wiring, > > possibly caused by a short or by lightning, but is that all there is > > to it? > > > > And ... on a completely related subject (only seemingly different)... > > > > ...the Wiki entry for "rogue wave," has some decent info - but they > > fail to mention specifically "superradiance" as the source cause. Too > > bad, as it forces me to paraphrase that entry. > > > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_wave_(oceanography) > > > > Not surprising that they miss "DPSR" (Dicke-Preparata Super-radiance), > > as the MO - since application of this phenomenon to the real world is > > almost 'brand new,' especially to LENR. But it is emerging as powerful > > insight. > > > > SIDE NOTE: The new Widom, Larsen, Srivastava paper on "exploding > > wires" mentioned in NET by Steve Krivit, does build on DPSR, and > > recently suggests that about 17,000 amps is required to cause nuclear > > reactions in exploding wires. > > > > The Tungsten wire filaments in household light bulbs would never > > (almost never) get close to that high level of amperage - *unless* > > there are two overlapping anomalies - a "rogue wave" of the > > non-oceanic variety, which multiplies a normal (but rare) > > current-surge for a few nanoseconds. > > > > Normally, the incandescent wire glows in the yellow optical frequency, > > slowly evaporating metal atoms from the filament. Over time, the wire > > filament thins in some pinch regions, strongly increasing the Maxwell > > magnetic pressure. Then with a "pop", the filament explodes, shifting > > the final bright radiation pulse frequency upward into the blue. The > > filament is broken at the pinch points. IF - on rare occasion this > > were to happen coincident with a power surge - then... voila: it is > > not out-of-the-question that the common light bulb would be a > > documentable source of real nuclear reactions (documented by slight > > transformation of the Tungsten into non-natural isotopes). > > > > Back to the 'normal' (Wiki-ized) explanation for rogue waves. These > > can be the source for multiplying (a second) unrelated anomaly (thus > > the statistical rarity). > > > > There is "Diffractive focusing" which is one step towards the level of > > superradiance - where several smaller wave trains meet in phase. Their > > crest heights combine to create the freak-wave. This rings of Dardik's > > (Energetics) superwaves, where this phenomenon is actually planned (as > > opposed to being random) no? > > > > Then there is "Focusing by current" — On the ocean a gale-storm can > > force waves into an opposing current, even with some spherical > > convergence, shortening of wavelength and causing first: "shoaling" > > (increase in wave height) and later the already-shoaled wave trains > > can further compress into the rogue wave. > > > > Then there are "Nonlinear effects" — and for this explanation, one > > needs to appreciate the "long tail" of Boltzmann (in the Maxwellian > > statistical distribution). > > > > This is almost to the level of superradiance, when combined with the > > above points; and in such a case, an unstable wave type may form which > > 'sucks' energy from other waves, growing to a near-vertical monster > > itself, before becoming too unstable and collapsing shortly after. > > > > Wiki: "One simple model for this is a wave equation known as the > > nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLS), in which a normal and perfectly > > accountable wave (by the standard linear model) begins to 'soak' > > energy from the waves immediately fore and aft, reducing them to minor > > ripples compared to other waves. Such a monster, and the abyssal > > trough commonly seen before and after it, may last only for some > > minutes before either breaking, or reducing in size again. > > > > This could be very relevant to LENR - and - with this possible > > "lesson" of the 'you-heard-it-first-here' variety : > > > > "The NLS is only valid in deep water conditions, and in shallow water > > an alternative such as the Boussinesq equation is used." > > > > The naural lesson then, deriving all the way from oceanography to > > LENR, applicable for designing an electrodes which benefit from > > superradiance may be counter intuitive. The common wisdom is to > > maximized surface area (at the expense of bulk), but if one wants to > > maximized wave energy, then a thicker, as opposed to a thinner > > electrode would be indicated. > > > > Second lesson: read Dardik's (Lewin's) book (available from Amazon) > > and the W/L/S papers. > > > > Jones > > > > > > Prior message: > > > >> DPSR = Dicke-Preparata Super-radiance > >> > >> "Cooperative radiation" is the precursor to coherence, the laser and > >> so forth, but not confined to atomic or quantum systems. > >> > >> The "impure form" of coherence phenomenon is called super-radiance. > >> The name is somewhat self-explanatory, and it is a bit of a surprise > >> that until recently, the relevance to LENR was not appreciated (even > >> mentioned!). > >> > >> QM is replete with the strange assertion that energy effects can be > >> "borrowed nonlocally", i.e. from another dimension, and then "repaid" > >> later, but this is on a very small scale. At the macro-scale, > >> however, you may very well get something similar, but non-quantized > >> and hidden by noise which makes it seem random. > >> > >> Superradiant-like damping effects can even been heard in musical > >> instruments like the piano, or in specialized versions like the eight > >> octave model, in which some tones are produced by a group of two (or > >> three) identical strings that are struck together to give "more than > >> the sum" of each (at the expense of accelerated decay of the tone). > >> When the sound decays away too rapidly, then the tuning of the > >> strings is too perfect, and a small amount of detuning is introduced > >> deliberately to reduce superradiant damping. > >> > >> Examples of macro-super-radiance, like this, are important to force > >> comprehension of what may difficult to imagine as commonplace. But > >> super-radiance though not commonplace, is not exactly rare either. > >> Here is another example - the "rogue wave": > >> > >> http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=701 > >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freak_wave > >> > >> There is an emerging metaphor here, which may be closer to fact than > >> metaphor: > >> > >> LENR is the result of a "rogue wave" of interfacial phonons. > >> > >> The statistical probability of ocean rogue-waves, and phonon > >> rogue-waves (both so seemingly rare that they may seem unpredictable) > >> may actually be similar (when one takes into account relative > >> frequency and surface area). > >> > >> Jones > >> > >> > > > > > >
