Over on YouTube [Drake] from the [styropyro] channel investigates what happens when you take an enormous tungsten incandescent light bulb and pump 30,000 watts through it.

The answer: it burns bright enough to light up the forest at night, and hot enough to cook food and melt metal. And why on Earth would anybody do such a thing? Well [Drake] said it was because he wanted to outdo [Photonicinduction] who had already put 20,000 watts through a light bulb. Nothing like a little friendly competition to drive… progress?

[Drake] says he has purchased the most powerful incandescent light bulb ever made for commercial production. Rated for 24,000 watts (and operated at 30,000 watts) the enormous filament is made from tungsten. The starting current drawn by a light bulb is higher than the operating current, because the resistance of the filament increases with temperature, so it’s prudent to warm the device slowly. To this end [Drake] builds some custom wiring and dials to power the thing. Once that’s done, it’s off to the forest to play!

If you’re interested in over-the-top lighting shenanigans, you might enjoy reading about The World’s Longest Range LED Flashlight.