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Marvin Pipkin, inventor of the frosted light bulb

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Re: Marvin Pipkin, inventor of the frosted light bulb

#11

Post by wwweston »

el_benhameen wrote: post #8
teslabox wrote: post #2

I was not previously aware of the origin of the ubiquitous frosted light bulb. Thanks. > The public felt that the glare from clear transparent incandescent lamps gave off a harshness that was unwanted by most people. Another side effect was that they made it hard to see objects in immediate vicinity of the lamp. They desired a lamp that had a softer light with no glare. The first half of the 20th century was spent fi…

I think some people must be more sensitive than others to the color temperature of light, myself included. My parents (who are otherwise wonderful people) use the 3500-4000K fluorescents in their living room instead of the much more warm and pleasant table lamps. When I walk my dog at night, I often see the blue-green glow of what must be 5000K bulbs coming from many of my neighbors houses. And my office mis-ordered…

Some people may be more sensitive than others, but there's a reason why computer glasses filter out blue light, and it's not simply personal.

Had a similar experience to yours with an office, except the blinding 5000k hangers also bothered a lot of other people, to the point where normally many of them were unscrewed/turned off... except when we had clients we were trying to land coming to the office. Then management decided that we needed to have them all burning full brightness in order to make a good impression for key visiting clients.

Lighting sensitivities are yet another thing that are easy to personalize for in sane office plans, but can be a big drain in an open floor.

Re: Marvin Pipkin, inventor of the frosted light bulb

#12

Post by jedberg »

xtagon wrote: post #6
teslabox wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I take my dog on a walk every night. Suddenly, on one of these trips, I walked out my front door and into a horrible blue-white neighborhood That reminds me... Almost 2 years ago I responded to HN user jacobolus' comment on bad LED lights, which also included his strategy for dealing with LED streetlights while walking his dog: "[...] After San Francisco installed some awful LED lamps on my street, I’ve taken to we…

Orange safety classes (mine are called "computer glasses" but I suspect they are basically the same--they filter out blue light) can also help to prevent eye strain from extended computer screen time, and in my case at least, ocular migrations.

I use flux to do the same. I cut the color temp to 5800K during the day, which is just enough to cut out those blues that cause headaches, and I go all the way to 1850K at night.

Re: Marvin Pipkin, inventor of the frosted light bulb

#13

Post by disillusioned »

el_benhameen wrote: post #8
teslabox wrote: post #2

I was not previously aware of the origin of the ubiquitous frosted light bulb. Thanks. > The public felt that the glare from clear transparent incandescent lamps gave off a harshness that was unwanted by most people. Another side effect was that they made it hard to see objects in immediate vicinity of the lamp. They desired a lamp that had a softer light with no glare. The first half of the 20th century was spent fi…

I think some people must be more sensitive than others to the color temperature of light, myself included. My parents (who are otherwise wonderful people) use the 3500-4000K fluorescents in their living room instead of the much more warm and pleasant table lamps. When I walk my dog at night, I often see the blue-green glow of what must be 5000K bulbs coming from many of my neighbors houses. And my office mis-ordered…

I'm also hyper-sensitive to this. Our office has a stairwell light that has to be straight up 5000K fluorescent. It's awful. I found that Hyperikon's LEDs are all extremely accurate in their color temperatures, well matched amongst themselves, and support dimming. I use their 2700Ks in the office, and made sure everything matched.

Re: Marvin Pipkin, inventor of the frosted light bulb

#14

Post by benj111 »

"One day, while he was pouring the weaker solution into a bulb, the phone rang. In the process of answering the phone, he accidentally tipped the bulb over before it had enough time to finish cleaning out the previous etching. When he returned to his work, he accidentally knocked the glass bulb off the workbench and onto the floor. To his surprise it did not shatter, as etched bulbs normally did, but bounced a few times and then rolled under the workbench"

I'm always intrigued by the cognitive dissonance in rewarding inventors for doing difficult things, then lauding them for accidentally stumbling upon something.

Yes I get that you make your own luck etc. But luck doesn't seem to be accounted for in our present IP system.

Re: Marvin Pipkin, inventor of the frosted light bulb

#15

Post by benj111 »

teslabox wrote: post #2

I was not previously aware of the origin of the ubiquitous frosted light bulb. Thanks. > The public felt that the glare from clear transparent incandescent lamps gave off a harshness that was unwanted by most people. Another side effect was that they made it hard to see objects in immediate vicinity of the lamp. They desired a lamp that had a softer light with no glare. The first half of the 20th century was spent fi…

"I switched them out for proper incandescents, so I don't get headaches when I visit"

Why not just get 2700k LEDs? If you didn't like the Ferrari, because it wont carry the kids, don't go back to a horse and cart.

Re: Marvin Pipkin, inventor of the frosted light bulb

#16

Post by lostlogin »

wwweston wrote: post #11
el_benhameen wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think some people must be more sensitive than others to the color temperature of light, myself included. My parents (who are otherwise wonderful people) use the 3500-4000K fluorescents in their living room instead of the much more warm and pleasant table lamps. When I walk my dog at night, I often see the blue-green glow of what must be 5000K bulbs coming from many of my neighbors houses. And my office mis-ordered…

Some people may be more sensitive than others, but there's a reason why computer glasses filter out blue light, and it's not simply personal. Had a similar experience to yours with an office, except the blinding 5000k hangers also bothered a lot of other people, to the point where normally many of them were unscrewed/turned off... except when we had clients we were trying to land coming to the office. Then management…

I assume many have bought a light bulb that emits white light when they want a warm light. Everyone look like a zombie, it’s truely awful. Who wants those bulbs and why?

Re: Marvin Pipkin, inventor of the frosted light bulb

#17

Post by DiabloD3 »

benj111 wrote: post #15
teslabox wrote: post #2

I was not previously aware of the origin of the ubiquitous frosted light bulb. Thanks. > The public felt that the glare from clear transparent incandescent lamps gave off a harshness that was unwanted by most people. Another side effect was that they made it hard to see objects in immediate vicinity of the lamp. They desired a lamp that had a softer light with no glare. The first half of the 20th century was spent fi…

"I switched them out for proper incandescents, so I don't get headaches when I visit" Why not just get 2700k LEDs? If you didn't like the Ferrari, because it wont carry the kids, don't go back to a horse and cart.

Specifically, stop buying really shitty LEDs and get Cree 2700ks.

Out of every LED I tested when I finally abandoned incandescent (manufacturers started shipping intentionally short-lived bulbs that would die in less than a year, when they used to last many many years before), Cree was the only brand that didn't feel like I was stabbing myself in the eyes, and also didn't have any weird hues or casts or anything (especially not the goddamned green-cast problem that so many LEDs suffered from).

GE and Phillips are distant seconds, and I don't even know why Sylvania even exists.

The only way to beat a Cree bulb is to start looking into specialty LEDs meant for photography usage (>95 CRI, >95 in R9 and R13, etc).

Re: Marvin Pipkin, inventor of the frosted light bulb

#18

Post by namanyayg »

benj111 wrote: post #14

"One day, while he was pouring the weaker solution into a bulb, the phone rang. In the process of answering the phone, he accidentally tipped the bulb over before it had enough time to finish cleaning out the previous etching. When he returned to his work, he accidentally knocked the glass bulb off the workbench and onto the floor. To his surprise it did not shatter, as etched bulbs normally did, but bounced a few ti…

Seems like you've higher chances on stumbling on something accidentally useful when you're trying to do difficult things rather than when not

Re: Marvin Pipkin, inventor of the frosted light bulb

#19

Post by SmellyGeekBoy »

benj111 wrote: post #14

"One day, while he was pouring the weaker solution into a bulb, the phone rang. In the process of answering the phone, he accidentally tipped the bulb over before it had enough time to finish cleaning out the previous etching. When he returned to his work, he accidentally knocked the glass bulb off the workbench and onto the floor. To his surprise it did not shatter, as etched bulbs normally did, but bounced a few ti…

I'm not sure what you're suggesting - that we only award patents in cases where clear evidence of hard work can be provided?

Re: Marvin Pipkin, inventor of the frosted light bulb

#20

Post by Tade0 »

lostlogin wrote: post #16
wwweston wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people may be more sensitive than others, but there's a reason why computer glasses filter out blue light, and it's not simply personal. Had a similar experience to yours with an office, except the blinding 5000k hangers also bothered a lot of other people, to the point where normally many of them were unscrewed/turned off... except when we had clients we were trying to land coming to the office. Then management…

I assume many have bought a light bulb that emits white light when they want a warm light. Everyone look like a zombie, it’s truely awful. Who wants those bulbs and why?

My SO uses 5000K lights for drawing, otherwise the colors are off in sunlight and in photos.

I also prefer outdoor lighting to be on the hotter side - low temperature lights to me look too much like sodium lamps.

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