Filament

Edison Incandescent Lamp

Description

1) A continuous fiber of indefinite length. Examples are a silk thread, spun glass, or a synthetic thread extruded from a spinneret. Filaments may also be drawn from metals such as gold or tungsten.

2) A threadlike wire used in a lightbulb. A wire filament such as tungsten, will glow white when heated with an electric current.

Synonyms and Related Terms

filamento (Esp.); fijne draad (Ned); vezel (Ned); filament (Ned);

Authority

• Theodore J. Reinhart, 'Glossary of Terms', Engineered Plastics, ASM International, 1988

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Dictionary of Fiber & Textile Technology (older version called Man-made Fiber and Textile Dictionary, 1965), Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Charlotte NC, 1990

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000