Popular Science - USA (2020 - Winter)

The lightbulb hanging in the garage at

the fire station in Livermore, California,

never dies. When I began working there in

the early 1970s we’d swat it for luck, but in

1972, a reporter dated it to the early twen-

tieth century. More than a hundred years

since it was made, the incandescent still

shines, but no one knows exactly how.

The bulb came from the Shelby Electric

Company, whose products were famous

for being the best around. The designers

used a secret formula to craft filaments,

the wiring inside the vacuum-sealed glass

that produces light when electricity runs

through it. Physicists at the US Naval

Academy have identified the material as a

cellulose- based substance that becomes

pure carbon when baked, often reaching

the hardness of a diamond. Filaments to-

day are thinner and deteriorate faster, so

perhaps the thickness of Shelby’s coils

makes them more durable. We also sus-

pect our bulb has a perfect vacuum seal

that further protects its innards.

Since the light’s novelty became appar-

ent, we’ve discussed how to best protect it.

My suggestion has always been to do

nothing. It’s been batted, hit with foam

balls, and ignored for decades. We’ll let it

be—it clearly doesn’t need our help.

the bulb that

won’t burn out

as told to Claire Maldarelli

TOM BRAMELL, FORMER DEPUTY FIRE

CHIEF FOR LIVERMORE-PLEASANTON

FIRE DEPARTMENT

WINTER 2020/ POPSCI.COM

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