Bubble Lights
Bubble lights are a type of incandescent novelty light that acquired some popularity during the 1950s. Their main feature is a sealed glass tube with a colored bubbling liquid inside, created by the heat from the incandescent light. The fluid within the vial was originally a lightweight oil but now is methylene chloride for a more consistent bubble effect. While the idea was first demonstrated by Benjamin Franklin, the idea was adapted for use in Christmas Lights. They were invented by Carl Otis in 1935 who sold the patents to the NOMA Electric Corporation. There is a long story involving patent fights. Bubble Lights can still be purchased online and in stores to this day.
Read more about this topic: Christmas Lighting Technology
Famous quotes containing the words bubble and/or lights:
“Each swung in danger on its slender twig,
A bubble on a pipestem, growing big.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Y’know scientists are funny. We probe and measure and dissect. Invent lights without heat, weigh a caterpillar’s eyebrow. But when it comes to really important things we’re as stupid as the caveman.... Like love. Makes the world go ‘round, but what do we know about it? Is it a fact? Is it chemistry? Electricity?”
—Martin Berkeley, and Jack Arnold. Helen Dobson (Lori Nelson)