Why does the filament of a bulb burn out when exposed to atomosphere wheras that of a heater coil does not?

Answer 1

The filament of a bulb is much thinner than a heater coil, that's the reason. The thinner coil has more resistance, so it heats up more and emits light. Heater coil doesn't heat so much as a bulb and emits less light.

Answer 2

First, the heater coil is not hot enough to vaporize the metal.
Second, some heater coils are coated with a ceramic material to prevent burning out. The wire in a light bulb filament is extremely thin, like a spider web. It gets so hot that the tungsten is almost molten! If you jar or shake a light bulb while it is on, the filament is likely to snap just because it is soft while it is hot. So, the third reason why heater cols do not burn out is that they do not get hot enough to get soft and weak.

Answer 3

Over time, the heater coil will "burn out." The reason a filament burns out so much quicker is due to it's small size, fragile nature and the incandescent heat it generates.

Answer 4

In electric bulb the temperature developed in the filament is very very high when compared to heater coil. the temperature in the filament(bulb) is almost eqal to the vaporisation of tungsten if it is exposed to atmosphere ,the vaporisation takes place and the filament is broke down .In order to prevent vaporisation loss we covered it with vacuum or filled with inert gas.whereas in heater the temperature is also less and thicness of coil is more

Answer 5

That of a heater coil is much thicker. It also produces much less light as you may have noticed, which is why it isn't suitable for light bulbs.

Answer 6

http://invsee.asu.edu/nmodules/lightbulbmod/history.html