November 14, 2012 (Wednesday)
A little more on the subject of light. The government has banned 100 Watt Light Bulbs and will soon ban 75W and 60W. The most likely substitute will be fluorescent bulbs, which sell for a reasonable price, but many people do not like the glare of the fluorescent bulbs. Therefore, a new type of bulb is being manufactured. It is the LED (light emitting diode) bulb. It sells for–are you ready for this–$55! But it lasts a very long time. The cost per hour of use is fairly reasonable.
The reason for the ban on incandescent bulbs is the inherent waste of energy. Most of the electricity used by an incandescent bulb is used up producing heat instead of light. The LED bulb uses electricity much more efficiently, but costs a lot. A lot of circuitry involving integrated circuits, resistors, capacitors, etc. is involved in each bulb. Would a houseful of such bulbs produce interference with other electronic gadgetry in a home? I don’t know–just thinking aloud.
The “Car of the Year” today is the Tesla, an all-electric car. It will sell for $57,000. Plans are under way to produce 20,000 of these cars per year. Back in the days when I worked for General Motors, our plant produced ten times that many cars per year, operating 16 hours per day (816 cars per day).
My imagination tells me the radiation dangers of nuclear power will one day be neutralized and automobiles will be steam-driven with water heated by nuclear power–either fission or fusion. The steam engine will be about the size of our 4-cylinder motors today and the reactor will be no larger than a cigar box (just letting my mind meander).
Here we are, new inventions, gadgets and all, poised on the threshold of a brave, new world. Who knows what’s next? Reminds me of a story I heard when I was a kid: “They have invented a car that will go 1000 miles per hour and can stop on a dime.” “Really? Has it been tested?” “Yes, it passed the test. But they have not found the driver yet.”