this post was submitted on 25 Dec 2025
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You have three switches in one room and a single light bulb in another room. You are allowed to visit the room with the light bulb only once. How do you figure out which switch controls the bulb? Write your answer in the comments before looking at other answers.


Comment:

If this were an interview question, the correct response would be "Do you have any relevant questions for me? Because have a long list of things that more deserving of my precious time than to think about this!

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[–] xthexder@l.sw0.com 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Well, I can't say I've ever seen it happen, but I could see how it could happen in certain scenarios, especially if the LED has some weird driver in it. Maybe the capacitors in the driver would be allowed to charge up in some designs before getting dissipated through the LED in a flash?
The simplest form of LED light (just a rectifier and a bunch of LEDs in series for a 120V diode drop), idk if you'd ever see any glow or flashes, since LEDs don't turn on until a certain voltage, and if you're getting like 50V on an open circuit that seems to me like you've accidentally built a transformer in your walls.

[–] Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca 2 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

A very low current transformer, more of kess yeah.

Some lights will charge op and flicker, others have a constant glow. The speed/brightness depends on how long the wire is, so most residential lamps are unnoticeable even when it happens, but large rooms and weird wiring can make it more obvious.

[–] xthexder@l.sw0.com 2 points 19 hours ago

I guess that makes sense it'd happen more in big buildings. The runs in most houses wouldn't be long enough to have a noticeable induced current without the electrician adding a few extra loops for fun :)

Thanks for humoring my skepticism, it's been interesting to think about how this would happen.