An ordinary incandescent light bulb contains an inert gas inside its glass enclosure for two main reasons: increasing the filament's life and causing a small decrease in the bulb's energy efficiency.
Step-by-step explanation:
An ordinary incandescent light bulb contains an inert gas inside its glass enclosure for two main reasons:
Increasing the filament's life: The inert gas helps to prevent the filament from evaporating and depositing on the glass, prolonging the life of the filament and therefore the bulb itself.
Causing a small decrease in the bulb's energy efficiency: The presence of the inert gas reduces the amount of heat conducted through the air to the glass envelope, which helps to protect the glass from the heat produced by the hot filament. However, this also leads to a small decrease in the bulb's energy efficiency.