Rolly in Windsor had an answer for a previous caller regarding 3-way bulbs. The question was if any of the three filaments would last longer than theaters. For instance, would the leaving the light on the 50-watt filament most of the time cause it to last longer than leaving it at the 100 or 150-watt position most of the time? Bill hypothesized that that might be the case, but was not positive, because of the differing construction of the filaments.
Rolly stated that there are actually only two filaments in a 3-way bulb, and that the 3 different wattage levels were obtained by using just one filament at a time, or both. So that a 3-way bulb which had a maximum rating of 150 watts would have one 50-watt filament, and one 100-watt filament. Depending on how much one filament vibrates when it breaks, it could take the other filament with it, or could leave it alone, leaving the bulb with two off positions and two on positions (which would now be the same light level).
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