The Centennial Bulb, A 110-Year-Old Light Bulb, Still Shining (VIDEO)

This bulb could hold the secrets to long-lasting energy.

The Centennial Bulb, as it's called by the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department, will celebrate its 110th year on June 18, making it the longest living light bulb in the world. And it doesn't seem to be going out anytime soon.

Remarkably, no one seems to have a clue as to why the bulb has managed to stay on so long, according to the BBC. Though it's a 60 Watt bulb only running at about 4 Watts, its outstanding long life is still unbelievable.

The legendary bulb was manufactured by the Shelby Electric Company of Ohio and has served a number of city fire department facilities since it was first used in 1901. It currently resides at the fire department's Station 6.

According to the city's website, both the Guinness Book of World Records and Ripley’s Believe It-Or-Not have certified its authenticity.

The city of Livermore will commemorate the anniversary on June 18 with a community celebration.

The bulb also has a livecam that refreshes every 10 seconds, which you can see here.

WATCH:

Comments

[lighthouse10]

05:50 AM on 06/30/2011

"Old obsolescent" incandescent technology is also cheap safe and known lighting
technology, compared with new complex and questionably safe lighting (CFLs with
fire, mercury and radiation risks, LEDS with lead and arsenic risks ( http://ceolas.net/#li18eax onwards).
Yes, we should welcome the new: it does not mean having to get rid of the old, which the energy usage standards effectively does, beginning with simple incandescent lighting.

Light bulbs don't burn coal, and they don't give out CO2 gas: there are many more relevant ways of dealing with electricity generation, distribution and consumption, and less than 1% of US energy is saved by the lighting standards anyway, according to US Dept of Energy and other official statistics (http://ceolas.net/#li171x )

[Aldo Rodriguez]

11:31 PM on 06/17/2011

Man, I could imagine the electic bill for that one!

[beasteben]

01:49 PM on 06/17/2011

Channukah bulb.

[Ramkshrestha]

10:15 AM on 06/17/2011

This could not be good news for businessmen.

[rebeltoady]

12:24 AM on 06/17/2011

Byron lives on.

[wle]

10:17 PM on 06/16/2011

it;s not a secret
it runs very cold and dim, so it never gets hot enough to burn up

BUT for the power that goes into it, it emits very little light
it;s what we call 'inefficient'
you would not want that light bulb

you would have to have 5 of them to put out the same light as a regular 25c/60watt bulb

pretty soon the increased power would outrun the replacement cost of the bulbs

lets see
assume 1 25c 60watt bulb needs 5 of these things also at 60w to have the same light
extra power is 240 watts, or .24 kw
cost of power is $0.10/kw-hr
cost of running the 4 extra bulbs is .10x.24 = $.024/hour

so if these 5 bulbs are free and last forever,

assume the 25c bulb lasts 1000 hours
cost of buying the bulb is $.00025/hr

differential cost is .00025 - .024 = -.02375/hr

.25/.02375 = in 10.5 hours you could buy a new .25c bulb for what the extra power cost to get the same light from the 'last forever' bulbs

big deal
and the light would still be reddish brown not white

wle

[beasteben]

01:50 PM on 06/17/2011

Debbie Downer.

[skooli]

10:00 PM on 06/16/2011

Wow, horse play and accident hasn't gotten to it.

[ApprxAm]

09:40 PM on 06/16/2011

Light bulb came first, then planned obsolescence.

[Victoria-nola]

11:33 PM on 06/16/2011

Absolutely. Same with tires.

[Pandoras Folly]

08:59 AM on 06/17/2011

thats why "pyrex dishes" aren't made with Real Pyrex anymore they never brea. Never, barring some kind of extreme accident involving a 30 story drop onto a tank.

[Alex Gartzia]

09:33 PM on 06/16/2011

GE, take note and learn something. Tired of buying bulbs that break at the drop of a hat.

[Michael5555]

08:37 PM on 06/16/2011

Did I miss something ? Where is this lightbulb located, other than hanging from the ceiling ?

[BobRoberts1953]

07:29 PM on 06/16/2011

You can buy 130V bulbs. A 75W 130V bulb run on 120V, normal US voltage, puts out the same light as a 60W bulb and it will last 20,000 hours. They cost about 50¢ each.
Here is one, I'm sure you can find others. http://tinyurl.com/3omadou

[Trout007]

07:11 PM on 06/16/2011

I am a former lighting engineer with Philips. I can easily tell you why the bulb lasted so long. Incandescent bulbs burn out for one reason. The cycling of power causes the filament to flex and those cycles eventually cause a surface flaw. This flaw causes local heating and propagates the crack until it breaks the filament. A close example is how you break a paper clip. If you bend it a little back and forth it lasts a long time. If you bend it mo it gets harder to bend and the breaks.

This bulb has a very thick filament and is run continuously at low power. So there is less heating and less cycles. Lighting efficiency for an incandescent bulb is a function of temperature. The hotter the filament the more energy efficient it is. To make it hotter you need a thinner wire. The unfortunate result is a bulb that burns out quicker but saves you money while running it. As long as your overall costs are lower it's a good deal.

If you want your bulbs to last longer use a dimmer to lower their output. Just realize you are getting less light for the power you are putting in.

[Vermilionphoenix]

08:35 PM on 06/16/2011

Thanks for the info. You would have thought they would interview a lighting engineer for the article.

[Trout007]

09:03 PM on 06/16/2011

Nope. The MO is that the free market only screws over consumers.

One more thing. Using a dimmer on an incandescent light makes it much less efficient but not on a dimable CFL.

[BuckRussell]

09:49 PM on 06/16/2011

Excellent answer!

[DannyDiamond]

05:22 PM on 06/16/2011

Planned Obsolescence is so everyone can have a job and that's why we have a HUGE overpopulation problem. "If Bill gets this promotion, we're going to try for another child!!!" We can't support everyone in the world today with the planets natural resources. It's like a big game of musical chairs and somebodies gonna loose!

[DonVitoCorleone]

04:28 PM on 06/16/2011

I grew up int he Bay Area and remembering reading about this bulb as a kid. That was 50 years ago and it just had celebrated its 60th anniversary. However, my question is how is it possible to have a 110 year old firehouse? Don't they at do major remodeling every once in awhile?

[straightuptalker]

05:05 AM on 06/17/2011

Why should they remodel? If "it ain't broke...." I would much prefer having an historical structure still habitable as opposed to what's being built today. These old firehouses, like other structures, were built to last, unlike our newer, modern buildings that begin to crumble as soon as their built.

As to this lightbulb, we should learn a lesson from its longevity, obviously superior over the new crap we're supposed to be using, that requires a Hazmat Team to cleanup after it breaks.

[Pandoras Folly]

09:02 AM on 06/17/2011

the incandescent was lightbulb's vinyl, the flourescent is the eight track or casette, and LED is the CD. Now what is really awesome is the newer techs coming out that are cheap, long lasting, and safe.

[whomod]

04:16 PM on 06/16/2011

I think we need to drag GE into congress and explain to us all why Shelby Electric could make light bulbs that last decades, way back at the turn of the last century but they can't seem to do the same 100 years later.

I think, like most everything in our culture, that building something to last just isn't profitable. After all the job of us common men is to make sure we keep the rich in their top hats and summer villas.