• @[email protected]
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      108 months ago

      The lightbulbs thing was (possibly) different. There’s some physical limits on the performance of lightbulbs so the time to failure test was more of a proxy to make sure bulbs of a certain wattage were outputting similar strength and color light.

      https://youtu.be/zb7Bs98KmnY?si=UQzU-Vn2E01Bs4sm

      I don’t know if there were other reasons this glass tech didn’t catch on besides the obvious capitalism issues, but the lightbulb thing is definitely a misunderstood piece of trivia.

      • dantheclammanOPM
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        38 months ago

        Ha I knew someone would bring up Tech Connections. Both vids feature fascinating science history!

    • dantheclammanOPM
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      68 months ago

      Also has led to a vibrant market for old Pyrex, made with borosilicate before they switched to soda-lime. Borosilicate is generally much more resistant to thermal shock (though there are some advantages to soda lime, but the big reason is that it’s cheaper)

      • @[email protected]
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        48 months ago

        I discovered the difference the hard way in college when I shattered a pyrex measuring cup by pouring boiling water into it. Four cups of boiling water and glass shards everywhere!

      • PlumM
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        28 months ago

        Look for PYREX, not pyrex. They switched over in the 1990s, but sometimes you can get lucky at thrift stores.