Some have claimed that using a dimmer to slowly turn on or off an incandescent light bulb would (in a practical sense) allow it to last forever. At last check, there's some light bulb in a Northern California fire station that is said to be burning continuously for about a century.
An expert claimed to have some quantum mechanical explanation, but I never did hear it. Can anyone explain this phenomena in English? Has anyone seen a bulb blow out when not being turned on? (I think I've seen one blow out in the middle of usage -- after about ten minutes -- but I can't swear to it.)