What causes a light bulb to explode in a thunderstorm?
Maylett91 asked:
“Short circuit of sorts. The light bulb must have over heated by a sudden rush of energy causing it to burst. Though the other lights just went out because the burst of energy only needed one main exit to exclude its energy. Thus the light bulb bursting. Well that’s what I think”. <--- that is my friends sight on why a light bulb explodes we just wanted to know if it was true or if you could give us knowledge on the subject.
“Short circuit of sorts. The light bulb must have over heated by a sudden rush of energy causing it to burst. Though the other lights just went out because the burst of energy only needed one main exit to exclude its energy. Thus the light bulb bursting. Well that’s what I think”. <--- that is my friends sight on why a light bulb explodes we just wanted to know if it was true or if you could give us knowledge on the subject.
a sudden drop in air pressure. The difference in air pressue outside in the storm drops and the difference between that and the air that’s trapped inside the light bulb is to great and sudden that it creates a kind of vacuum inside the buld and it collapses into itself. It does not really “explode”, it just seems like it does because the glass can not break inward. [who] R. Trout
You are mostly correct. If there is a surge in electricity then this will over heat the filament in the light bulb and causing it to fail. But causing it to shatter is very rare. It does happen though. As soon as the filament fails then the electricity is turned off because the circuit is broken.
The air pressure answer is incorrect. If that was the case then you could not purchase any light bulbs in the city and then take them up to your cabin at 6,000 feet in the mountains as all the bulbs would break. And your household light bulb is a vacuum, no air inside so the filament will last longer. [who] DaveSFV