Electricity on Shabbat

Electricity use on Shabbat

The fundamental issue is whether use of electricity violates any prohibited activity (מלאכה) or not. A secondary issue is whether or not such use would constitute "making the Shabbat like a weekday". Another issue is whether or not one is permitted to openly defy community norms.

To determine whether or not such use is prohibited, one needs to understand the mechanisms at work, and determine whether or not they fall under the apropriate halachic categories.

The classic question is whether or not one may cause an electric lightbulb to turn on or off:

Lightbulbs

Of course, there is more than one variety of lightbulb, which differ in their operative mechanism. The incandescent lamp passes electric current through a thin piece of tungsten, which glows bright white because the current causes it to heat up to around 3000C. A fluorescent bulb is a gas-discharge lamp that uses electricity to excite mercury vapor in argon or neon gas, resulting in a plasma that produces short-wave ultraviolet light. This light then causes a phosphor to fluoresce, producing visible light. An LED, or light-emitting diode, uses a form of electroluminescence - using electricity to excite molecules of the diode so they produce light when they relax to their resting state.

Possible melachot

• cooking (בישול)
• burning (הבערה)

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