Thanks for your replies. My thinking was wrong. I was thinking that the light wouldn't illuminate even dimly. I thought since the bulb was rated as 120 volts, that the filament must have been designed so that 12 volts couldn't generate enough fiction/resistance to produce the light. But I...
Can a 12 volt car battery illuminate a 120vac 100 watt bulb ? I not sure if a bulb that is rated for 120 volts can still be powered with a battery pushing 12 volts.
I think the 100 watt bulb only needs 1 amp to be illuminated with the 120 volts.
I'm still trying to figure out the basics...
That sounds good. I will switch from a thin to a thicker wire if I encounter an unexpectable voltage drop. It also sounds like thicker wire cost more than thin wire. So if I need a lot of wire, I'll use the thinner wire if it does the job (without loss of voltage and without causing the wire...
I see. You actually lose some power when using the thinner wire but it isn't enough to matter. I guess it is not enough of a power loss to dim a bulb.
Thanks for your response Pumblechook .
If a thick wire has less resistence which allows more current to flow, why not always use a thick wire rather than a thin wire ? For example, if you have small circut with a 1.5 volt battery use to light a 1.2 volt bulb, why not use a 12 gauge wire (i.e. thick wire) rather than a 22 gauge thin...