Bulbs connected in series. Physics doesn't add up

[TimFox]

Actually, this joke series is a reference to a BBC comedy, "Fawlty Towers", series 2, episode 6.

[tooki]

There is an anecdote circulating on-line about a new employee who was told not to spell "hamster" as "hampster" but refused to change because that's the way she spelled it.

[MrAl]

You're getting there, but while it can be said that a non-linear material/device has resistance, it is confusing to the point of being meaningless to measure it in Ohms. Ohm's has a meaning in the context of Ohm's Law, and that requires a linear material/device.
 

Are you sure about that?

Resistance is stated in units of Ohms, it does not matter where it comes from.  Negative resistance is a special case.
It does not have to follow Ohm's Law, but it can still be stated in units of Ohms.
Resistance dissipates energy while something that stores energy like a capacitor or inductor does not have resistance it only stores energy.
This means we can say a diode has resistance at a certain point and therefore dissipates energy, even though it does not follow Ohm's Law.
This we can have a statement about the unit Ohms without the device necessarily following the Ohm's Law proper.
I'm pretty sure you know this but you stated it a little differently.

We might also talk about the modernization of Ohm's Law, but that would probably just cause more confusion.

[MrAl]

Ohm's has a meaning in the context of Ohm's Law, and that requires a linear material/device.

You view the Ohm unit in a narrow context, considering it solely as a concept of resistance that applies meaningfully only to linear components with Ohmic resistance. In contrast, I see the Ohm unit in a broader context - as the ratio of voltage to current or the ratio of electric field strength to magnetic field strength. This ratio reflects the constant relationship for linear components with Ohmic resistance (which we know as classic Ohm's law), but it also applies to both linear and nonlinear components at selected voltage and current levels. This perspective, while extending beyond the classical interpretation of Ohm's Law, continues to address the same fundamental essence expressed as the relationship between voltage and current. It emphasizes the intrinsic physical nature of this relationship, which significantly impacts the efficiency of energy transfer from the source to the receiver.

For example, the characteristic impedance of the environment surrounding an antenna is also expressed in Ohms. However, this impedance is varying within the near-field region and, even in the far-field region it depends on the properties of the surrounding environment. Does this mean that we cannot express it in Ohms?

I believe he stated that incorrectly.  Ohms is a unit while Ohm's Law is a relationship between measurements that applies in some cases.
Ohm's Law is not a true law it is an empirical law, but the unit of Ohms is always the unit of Ohms whether it follow what we call Ohm's Law or not.  When we have resistance we see energy being absorbed.  That's a fundamental physical concept.

[tggzzz]

You're getting there, but while it can be said that a non-linear material/device has resistance, it is confusing to the point of being meaningless to measure it in Ohms. Ohm's has a meaning in the context of Ohm's Law, and that requires a linear material/device.
 

Are you sure about that?

Resistance is stated in units of Ohms, it does not matter where it comes from.  Negative resistance is a special case.
It does not have to follow Ohm's Law, but it can still be stated in units of Ohms.
Resistance dissipates energy while something that stores energy like a capacitor or inductor does not have resistance it only stores energy.
This means we can say a diode has resistance at a certain point and therefore dissipates energy, even though it does not follow Ohm's Law.
This we can have a statement about the unit Ohms without the device necessarily following the Ohm's Law proper.
I'm pretty sure you know this but you stated it a little differently.

We might also talk about the modernization of Ohm's Law, but that would probably just cause more confusion.

You make some valid points, but...
Negative resistance isn't mathematically a different case.
Resistance is a susbset of impedance, where the reactive component is zero. Both are quantified in Ohms.

[TimFox]

One case where the incremental or AC resistance (derivative dV/dI at a given operating point) is useful is in the calculation of Johnson (thermal) noise.
Since noise is a small variation about the equilibrium condition, any real (non-reactive) component of the impedance (R + jX) will generate the same noise as an ohmic resistor in the equivalent circuit.

[Ice-Tea]

Dude asks a question about lightbulbs.

We're now on thermal noise and complex calculus 

Oh, and the OP has long since left the building...

[TimFox]

Physics is hard:  live with it.
Note that the OP's question title includes "Physics doesn't add up".
Some of us were explaining the physics.

[radiolistener]

Dude asks a question about lightbulbs.

We're now on thermal noise and complex calculus 

Hold on, we haven't even gotten to relativistic corrections and quantum effects yet - the real fun is still ahead! 

[m k]

Is it time again, seems that my R doesn't include time, it's a point like thing and can't have variations.
If it changes to Z it's still sort of a moment, it doesn't include any waveform.

[BeBuLamar]

If you say the light bulb is non linear then just about any resistance is non linear. I don't know of a conductor that doesn't change its resistance with temperature. Most of the time it's insignificant because the temperature changes are too small but there always is a change in resistance with a change in temperature.

[TimFox]

Yes, conductive media usually have a measurable temperature co-efficient.
However, it is possible to externally control the temperature of the resistive element, and at low power the self-heating should be negligible.
As I pointed out near the beginning of this thread, Ohm's Law is an approximation that is usually useful, but it is not strictly exact:  many resistors exhibit a voltage co-efficient of resistance (unrelated to temperature), but it is rarely specified on the data sheet.
I have seen physically small (0603 and 0805 SMT) high-value resistors where the resistance changes by > 0.1% at constant temperature for only 10 V applied to 50 megohms.
Lower-value resistors in reasonable packages (e.g., RN60 metal film TH resistors) are more linear.
Light bulbs are extremely non-linear, treated as components, over their usual operating voltage and current range, as shown in measurements reported above.

[tggzzz]

Is it time again, seems that my R doesn't include time, it's a point like thing and can't have variations.
If it changes to Z it's still sort of a moment, it doesn't include any waveform.

Resistors do have a time dependence: a standard real pain in the backside are carbon composition resistors that drift higher over the decades

Resistors also have a voltage dependence. I have some high quality "resistance transfer standards" resistors that were measured in a calibration lab; for one the label indicates:
100V 1.025
200V 1.027
500V 1.001

TOhms, that is

No, those connectors aren't BNC, and no, I haven't opened the case.

[MrAl]

Actually, this joke series is a reference to a BBC comedy, "Fawlty Towers", series 2, episode 6.

That was a good one.
Of the foreign tv shows, I also liked Monte Python of course, and Poirot, but my favorite by far was Coupling which was outstanding.

[MrAl]

If you say the light bulb is non linear then just about any resistance is non linear. I don't know of a conductor that doesn't change its resistance with temperature. Most of the time it's insignificant because the temperature changes are too small but there always is a change in resistance with a change in temperature.

I think there is a difference between a light bulb filament and a regular resistor or even copper wire.  That's because we do not normally use just a regular resistor or copper wire until they get red or white hot.  The filament and it's enclosure is made to keep it hot and stay hot, while with the others we only use them up to a certain temperature.   Of course, there is the fusing temperature which we take into account for fuses, but once the fuse blows that's about as big as a change in resistance as we can get.  If you want to call that a nonlinear resistance that's up to you

[MrAl]

Dude asks a question about lightbulbs.

We're now on thermal noise and complex calculus 

Oh, and the OP has long since left the building...

Well, imagine we are all sitting in a cafe' or dining room or board room and someone walks in and asks a question.  We answer that question, then he leaves.  Do we suddenly forget all about that and go on to sip coffee or tea and just stay completely silent?  I don't think so.  If the question is interesting enough, it may lead to a longer discussion among us.  That's just what being social is all about.  If you would like to stay silent however, that is always your choice, but there's no good reason to try to stop others from continuing the discussion.

This topic happens to be one of the most controversial I've seen on the web even though it shouldn't be.  It's just about the way humans deal with physics.  We are constantly coming up with new ways to abbreviate the complex to make it faster to deal with, and in the process making it a little more obscure for someone who is not in the know.  It's both a blessing and a curse.

[m k]

Resistors also have a voltage dependence. I have some high quality "resistance transfer standards" resistors that were measured in a calibration lab; for one the label indicates:
100V 1.025
200V 1.027
500V 1.001

TOhms, that is

But shouldn't there be an indicator that the value includes time.
Maybe tOhms, but would yours then be tTOhms or TtOhms, and should there then be more than one value.