Black Hole Bulbs Posted Wed, 03 Aug 2005

Greg Pomerantz recently purchased a light bulb called a "black body bulb." When he told me this, I misheard him and thought he said he had purchased a "black hole bulb."

A small electrically-powered black hole that could be installed into a lamp is not only more technically challenging than building a light bulb. It is also, when you think about it, exactly what a light bulb isn't.

Responses to This Post

Actually, the closest approximation you can get to an ideal black body is to make a small hole in the side of a furnace.  A black body absorbs any radiation that hits it, and radiates according to its temperature.  A hole does this very well.

Leave Your Own Comment