system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are we not supposed to rapidly turn lights on and off?
gpt
A lot of lights have a lifetime dependent on the cycle time. For example an incandescent light bulb have a tiny wire that heats up every time you turn the light on and produce light. But heating the wire also makes it expand which puts pressure on it which over time can cause cracks to widen and eventually go all the way though the wire and it will snap. So you only have a limited number of times you can switch on the light before it stops working. It is not true with all types of lights and electronics. You get incandescent lights which is designed for a high cycle count and modern LED lights often have no limits on cycle time. The lifetime and cycle count of a light bulb is often listed separately.