WEBVTT - How 3-Way Lightbulbs Work

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com

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<v Speaker 1>where smart happens. Hi, I'm Marshall Brain. Today's question, how

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<v Speaker 1>does a three way light bulb work? The answer is

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<v Speaker 1>pretty easy. A three way bulb has two filaments inside

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<v Speaker 1>of it. The next time one burns out, carefully open it,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, wrap it in a towel and hit it

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<v Speaker 1>lately with a hammer, and you'll see the two separate

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<v Speaker 1>filaments inside the bulb. For the lowest setting, one filament

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<v Speaker 1>comes on, it might be a fifty watt filament. For

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<v Speaker 1>the next setting, the second filament comes on, it might

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<v Speaker 1>be a hundred watt filament. For the third setting, both

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<v Speaker 1>come on for a total of a hundred and fifty watts.

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<v Speaker 1>Look at the end of the bulb's base you'll be

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<v Speaker 1>able to see how the lamp switch controls the two filaments. Today,

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<v Speaker 1>there are now three way fluorescent bulbs. In one design

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<v Speaker 1>from ge there are two different tubes. Either one or

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<v Speaker 1>both fluorescent tubes can be lit to create the same effect.

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