the.com/filament
a thread thin enough to vanish, stubborn enough to outshine the sun on demand
means A very fine thread or thread-like structure — especially the slender wire inside a bulb that glows when electricity heats it.
from From Latin filum, 'thread,' which spun off the medieval Latin filamentum and arrived in English in the early 1600s. The same filum thread runs through file (a line of papers strung together), profile, and filigree — a whole family descended from one humble word for string.
- melting point
- tungsten endures 3,422°C before giving up
- daily death
- bulbs blew when filaments slowly evaporated away
- edison's hunt
- tested 6,000 plant fibers for the perfect one
- hair-thin
- often thinner than a single human hair
- galaxy scale
- cosmic filaments link galaxies across millions of light-years
tungsten filament — used in incandescent light bulbs since 1904, melts at 3,422°c
filament in 3d printers — pla and abs plastic spools, standard 1.75mm diameter for fdm printing
spider silk filament — dragline silk from golden orb weaver, stronger than steel of equal thickness