3 ms·

Wouldn't hotter bulbs mean less energy wasted as infrared light?

• greggsy 3y ago
  You mean more?
  • falcrist 3y ago
    Turns out it's less. Cooler bulbs seem to generate a larger fraction of their energy in the infrared. Hotter bulbs generate not only more light, but a greater fraction of that light is visible.
    • montecarl 3y ago
      This is easier to think about, if you consider the extremes. A very low power bulb generates no visible light, but still consumes energy. This is super inefficient. At higher temperature the peak shifts to longer wavelengths (i.e. visible). You can compare the black body radiation at different temperatures using Planck's law.[1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck%27s_law#/media/File:Black_body.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck%27s_law#/media/File:Bla...
      • brazzy 3y ago
        >At higher temperature the peak shifts to longer wavelengths (i.e. visible) Shorter, not longer.