An incandescent light bulb, also known as an incandescent lamp or incandescent gentle globe, is an electric gentle that produces illumination by Joule heating a filament till it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb that is both evacuated or full of inert gas to protect the filament from oxidation. Electric present is provided to the filament by terminals or wires embedded in the glass. A bulb socket gives mechanical assist and electrical connections. Incandescent bulbs are manufactured in a wide range of sizes, gentle output, and voltage rankings, from 1.5 volts to about 300 volts. They require no external regulating gear, have low manufacturing costs, and work equally effectively on both alternating present or direct current. As a result, the incandescent bulb grew to become widely used in family and industrial lighting, for portable lighting resembling table lamps, automobile headlamps, and flashlights, and for decorative and advertising lighting. Incandescent bulbs are a lot less environment friendly than different sorts of electric lighting.

Less than 5% of the energy they consume is transformed into visible mild