Exploding light bulb
Encyclopedia
An exploding light bulb is a tungsten halogen
Halogen lamp
A halogen lamp, also known as a tungsten halogen lamp, is an incandescent lamp with a tungsten filament contained within an inert gas and a small amount of a halogen such as iodine or bromine. The chemical halogen cycle redeposits evaporated tungsten back on to the filament, extending the life of...

 or high-intensity discharge
High-intensity discharge lamp
High-intensity discharge lamps are a type of electrical lamp which produces light by means of an electric arc between tungsten electrodes housed inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina arc tube. This tube is filled with both gas and metal salts. The gas facilitates the...

 lamp
Lamp (electrical component)
A lamp is a replaceable component such as an incandescent light bulb, which is designed to produce light from electricity. These components usually have a base of ceramic, metal, glass or plastic, which makes an electrical connection in the socket of a light fixture. This connection may be made...

, which ruptures explosively. Because these lamps operate with high pressure inside a high-temperature envelope, explosion can result in small pieces of hot glass ejected at high speed.

Causes of bulb explosion

If the protective outer shell of a halogen lamp
Halogen lamp
A halogen lamp, also known as a tungsten halogen lamp, is an incandescent lamp with a tungsten filament contained within an inert gas and a small amount of a halogen such as iodine or bromine. The chemical halogen cycle redeposits evaporated tungsten back on to the filament, extending the life of...

 is broken, the inner hot bulb may explode due to contact with moisture
Moisture
Humidity is the amount of moisture the air can hold before it rains. Moisture refers to the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts...

. Touching the glass of a light bulb with one's fingers leaves oils on the surface, which causes increased stress in the glass due to uneven temperature. This can lead to rupture of the glass, causing bulb explosion. Light bulb explosions are highly unpredictable. These explosions happen in both cold nonoperative and hot operative condition.

Hazards

Ejected high-speed glass pieces may cause minor to severe injury to people close to the exploding bulb. If inflammable material is present near the exploding bulb, it may catch fire causing damage to life and property.

Incidents

  • On December 9, 1868, the world's first traffic light
    Traffic light
    Traffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, signal lights, robots or semaphore, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic...

    s were installed at the junction of Great George Street and Bridge Street in the London borough
    London borough
    The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...

     of Westminster
    Westminster
    Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...

    . After about a month a traffic light exploded due to gas leakage, and a policeman was badly injured.
  • In April 1978 fire broke out in Redondo Beach
    Redondo Beach, California
    Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...

     plant owned by GTE
    GTE
    GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System....

    's Sylvania
    Sylvania Electric Products
    Sylvania Electric Products was a U.S. manufacturer of diverse electrical equipment, including at various times radio transceivers, vacuum tubes, semiconductors, and mainframe computers...

     due to bulb explosion. The fire damaged two military
    Military
    A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

     communication satellites worth 7.35 million dollars.
  • In 1982 fire broke out in the ceremonial room of Malacanang Palace when a Christmas tree
    Christmas tree
    The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...

     bulb exploded. President of the Philippines
    President of the Philippines
    The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...

     Ferdinand Marcos
    Ferdinand Marcos
    Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...

     had to flee in his bathrobe
    Bathrobe
    A bathrobe, dressing gown or housecoat is a robe. A bathrobe is usually made from towelling or other absorbent textile, and may be donned while the wearer's body is wet, serving both as a towel and an informal garment...

    .
  • In 1988 Catholic priest Richardo Castellano was hospitalised after his eye was cut due to an exploded bulb on the set of TV show The New Breed of Man.
  • In 1999, a San Diego, California
    San Diego, California
    San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

     family settled an $11 million lawsuit with Walmart because of a fire caused by a halogen lamp explosion. A 4-year-old girl was severely injured in this fire.
  • On February 4, 1994, a metal halide lamp
    Metal halide lamp
    Metal-halide lamps, a member of the high-intensity discharge family of lamps, produce high light output for their size, making them a compact, powerful, and efficient light source. By adding rare earth metal salts to the mercury vapor lamp, improved luminous efficacy and light color is obtained...

     on the high bay ceiling of NASA
    NASA
    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

    's Operations and Checkout Building
    Operations and Checkout Building
    The Operations and Checkout Building is a historic site on Merritt Island, Florida, United States. The five-story structure is in the Industrial Area of NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Its facilities include the crew quarters for astronauts prior to their flights. On January 21, 2000, it was added to...

     exploded. Pieces of glass from the lamp showered down onto the floor. No person or flight hardware were present at the time of incident. The explosion caused concern and glass fragments were sent to NASA
    NASA
    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

    's malfunction lab for evaluation. After observing discoloration of some bulb fragments it was determined that the exploded lamp was reaching the end of its useful life. Once the bulb reaches manufacture's recommended hours of useful life, the bulb has increased propensity to explode. However, such a bulb explosion occurs rarely at the end of useful life of bulb.
  • In 2006 actor Teri Hatcher
    Teri Hatcher
    Teri Lynn Hatcher is an American actress, writer, and presenter. She is known for her television roles as Susan Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and Lois Lane on the ABC comedy-drama series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman...

     suffered an eye injury when a glass fragment of an exploded bulb hit her cornea
    Cornea
    The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Together with the lens, the cornea refracts light, with the cornea accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power. In humans, the refractive power of the cornea is...

    . The incident happened on the set of Desperate Housewives
    Desperate Housewives
    Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...

    .
  • In 2007 WABC-TV
    WABC-TV
    WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...

     went off the air due to a spotlight explosion in the studio.
  • From January 1, 1992, to March 30, 1998, the Consumer Product Safety Commission
    Consumer Product Safety Commission
    The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent agency of the United States government created in 1972 through the Consumer Product Safety Act to protect "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products." The CPSC is an independent agency that does...

     received 260 reports of incidents related to halogen torchiere-style floor lamp fires. Out of 260 fires, 52 fires were caused when combustible material was ignited due to hot glass fragments from halogen lamp
    Halogen lamp
    A halogen lamp, also known as a tungsten halogen lamp, is an incandescent lamp with a tungsten filament contained within an inert gas and a small amount of a halogen such as iodine or bromine. The chemical halogen cycle redeposits evaporated tungsten back on to the filament, extending the life of...

     explosions. In all, 260 cases 12 deaths and 84 injuries were reported.

See also

This phenomenon is discussed further under Metal halide lamp#Risk of .27Non-passive.27 Failure .28Lamp Explosion.29, Halogen lamp#Safety and MR16#Halogen MR16 characteristics.
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