The Beauty of Light Bulbs

中文 | CHI：
《电灯泡的艺术》

绝大多数人都不会注意到电灯泡，可在我们生活中却扮演着重要的角色。不过，当关乎到美学层面上时，却毫无特色可言。然而，曾今有这么一家企业生产过最让人震惊的鲜花灯泡，好在该创意仍沿用至今。
Most of us don’t pay much attention to light bulbs. They play a very important role in our lives, but when it comes to aesthetics, most of them are nothing special. But there was once a company that produced the most amazing flower light bulbs, and luckily some of its creations are still around today.

这家Aerolux Lighting企业活跃于30年代～70年代，专注生产气体放电式灯泡，并将艺术和优雅融入其中。灯泡形状多姿多彩，从卡通人物和动物形象，再到宗教与流行符号等。其中，它的鲜花灯泡则最为深入人心，不仅将灯丝设计成形态复杂的金属花朵，当点亮的时候，还可根据不同的气体和涂层，绽放出各式颜色。在当年可是相当受欢迎，一起随小编欣赏下方这些佳作吧。
Aerolux Lighting Corporation was an artistic light bulb manufacturer that operated from the 1930s through the 1970s. The company made beautiful gas-discharge light-bulbs in various shapes, from cartoon characters and animals to religious symbols and popular emblems. But their most impressive and popular creations were the flower light bulbs. They not only had these intricate metallic flower sculptures for filaments, but they would also shine in various colors depending on the gases and coatings used. They were really popular back in the day and looking at the photos below, it’s easy to see why.

维基百科是这么解释的：“用于灯泡的Aerolux气体是一种低压气体，例如氖或氩，甚至将两者混合使用。灯泡内部由金属制成，并在其表面涂上了一层荧光粉。当辉光放电时，这些荧光粉便会被点亮发出荧光。辉光放电往往会释放出110-120伏的电压，为此常常被美国人们用于家用灯具上。”
According to Wikipedia, “Aerolux gas discharge light bulbs contained low-pressure gas, either neon or argon, or a mixture of the two. Also within the bulb were metal sculptures coated with phosphors. These phosphors fluoresced when excited by glow discharge. Because glow discharge occurs readily at 110-120 volts AC, one could use these bulbs in standard household lamps in the United States.”

Jonas Clark-Elliott补充道：“发红光的灯泡是因为充满了氖气，粉色光则是充入了氖和氩混和而成的气体，而紫色光便是加入了氩气。至于绿光是因为在金属的表层涂上了钡（化学元素），而这种金属钡主要用于检测释放电离气体时所产生的光线波长（同时，这种绿色一般适用于装饰性的广告灯，亦或陪衬鲜花灯泡内的绿叶或绿草）。”
Jonas Clark-Elliott adds that “The red bulbs are filled with neon gas, the pink bulbs with a neon-argon mix, and the purple/violet bulbs with argon gas. The green color (as was used for grass, accents in advertising bulbs or leaves in the flower and bouquet bulbs) was produced by coating the metal with barium, which responded to the wavelength of light given off by the ionized gas.”

因为荧光粉的使用，Aerolux灯泡变得有些“矫情”，安装时得小心翼翼，任何晃动或震动都会容易让荧光粉剥落，有时会附着到“灯丝艺术品”的其他部位，甚至掉入灯泡內芯的玻璃里。该灯泡耗电3-5瓦，且电力越强，亮度则越亮。
Because the phosphors used in Aerolux bulbs were somewhat brittle, they had to be handled with care. Shaking or jarring the bulbs could cause flaking and the migration of the phosphors to other parts of the sculpture or to the inner glass of the bulb. They consumed about 3-5 watts of power and had a high yield of light produced versus electricity consumed.

如今，这种老式Aerolux鲜花灯泡偶尔会在拍卖市场上亮相，比如说eBay网，并根据灯丝的工艺和好坏决定竞拍的价格，一般大约在50～200美元之间。
These days, vintage Aerolux flower light bulbs are sometimes auctioned off on sites like eBay, for anywhere between $50 and $200, depending on the condition and workmanship of the filament.

PS：正逢今天是我的生日，祝亲朋好友们幸福美满，也期望自己有朝一日也能给人们留下美好的回忆。
Today’s happened to be my birthday, so best wish for my families and friends with all my heart. Happiness follows you forever. And hope one day, I too could leave footprints in people’s hearts.

PPS：同时，预祝这周五即将生日的好友Seven生日快乐，越活越年轻，愈来愈漂亮。
Meanwhile, My friend Seven’s birthday is coming up this Friday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY to her. Best wish for her everlasting youth and beauty.

编译：BubbleSwan
Edited & Translated by BubbleSwan

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