I´ve seen somewhere else a guy who put some aluminum sheet (the kind you cook with) directly on the opposite side of the bulb as a reflector, covering mainly the light arc in that side. He claims he got brighter results with it.
I thought on the safety side of that. Would this heat up or do any damage to the bulb in the long run?
Cause right now it sound like an awesome way to make a reflector with a few cents.
I thought on the safety side of that. Would this heat up or do any damage to the bulb in the long run?
Cause right now it sound like an awesome way to make a reflector with a few cents.
i dont see a reason why it shouldnt be OK just make sure to keep loose ends of foil away from the electrical terminals. However, I do not think it will work better than a true reflector and I think the extra money should be spent. An actual reflector will be arranged about the arc and will have little to do with that glass bulb. Pressing aluminum to the bulb will have little to do wth the geometry of the arc and thus not work as well.
But, in a perfect world where the aluminum would be perfectly curved on the bulb glass (as in not folded/creased), wouldn´t all the light rays that goes into the reflector come back in exactly the way it came from?
I see why it is not the optimum way, cause it should have a specific spherical shape, but it still would be better than no reflector at all right? Like those reflectors which are just a metal sheet bent in one axis.
As for the safety side of it, I feel tempted to do it, till i find a better one.
I see why it is not the optimum way, cause it should have a specific spherical shape, but it still would be better than no reflector at all right? Like those reflectors which are just a metal sheet bent in one axis.
As for the safety side of it, I feel tempted to do it, till i find a better one.
This arrangement is better than no reflector at all as it will recover some of the light rays which are lost resulting into more brightness. The results will further improve with better shine of such reflecting surface as well as the shape of the said surface. The damage to the bulb will be lessened if there is ventilation to extract the heat. We took a bowl, got it nickel plated and placed the bulb assembly in a metal box having a exhaust fan, the brightness improved tremendously so much so that that a large image 120 inches wide is quite satisfactoy for dark viewing on a matt painted wall used as screen at a long throw distance of 22 feet at a default LCD brightness setting of 50% .without any removal of antiglare film. The resultant screen shots, photographs of the said reflector and bulb may be seen.
There are two dangers to using this method:
1. The aluminum is in direct contact with the bulb, plus whatever method is used to fasten it there. The bulb envelope is not intended to be in contact with any object during operation. It gets extremely hot, and the conductive properties of aluminum could possibly result in a temperature differential and heat stress in the glass, causing the glass to crack or shatter completely.
2. The results from such a reflector will be barely above no reflector at all, but it might convince you that an actual spherical reflector isn't worth the effort...though anyone who uses a good reflector will tell you it's almost mandatory to have one.
1. The aluminum is in direct contact with the bulb, plus whatever method is used to fasten it there. The bulb envelope is not intended to be in contact with any object during operation. It gets extremely hot, and the conductive properties of aluminum could possibly result in a temperature differential and heat stress in the glass, causing the glass to crack or shatter completely.
2. The results from such a reflector will be barely above no reflector at all, but it might convince you that an actual spherical reflector isn't worth the effort...though anyone who uses a good reflector will tell you it's almost mandatory to have one.
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