. An electric glow lamp having filaments of metallic tungsten, and contained in a glass bulb which is evacuated or has an inert gas, to avoid oxidation of the tungsten; a common form of light bulb. Such lamps, owing to the refractory nature of the metal, may be maintained at a very high temperature and require an expenditure of only about 1.25 watts per candle power, depending on the total wattage and the design of the bulb. By mid-20th century tungsten lamps became the most common type of incandescent (as contrasted with fluorescent) lamp; thus the phrase
incandescent lamp or
incandescent light typically refers to a tungsten lamp. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]