I only roughly understand how a spectroscope works, so that may be part of the problem. I don't understand what is different about what causes the materials to emit light.
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1$\begingroup$ Welcome to Physics SE! What have you tried to solve the problem on your own. Do you have specific questions about the wikipedia article about the tungsten lightbulb? $\endgroup$– Stefan BischofCommented May 22, 2017 at 3:49
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1 Answer
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The light emitted by a tungsten filament light bulb is due to heating the tungsten filament to a very high temperature. Tungsten has a high melting temperature so the filament can get very hot. The light is like heating a piece of metal till it glows, and then keep heating it until it is 'white' hot. The light is not due to atomic transitions.
The melting point of Tungsten is around 3410°C (6170°F) and the temperature reached in a light bulb is around 3,000°C
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1$\begingroup$ The light comes from thermal energy as the electrons bump into each other. The hotter any object gets the higher the spectrum and eventually appearing white. $\endgroup$ Commented May 22, 2017 at 7:00
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2$\begingroup$ This is not a very complete answer, because a black body radiating at 3000 Celsius will mostly radiate in the infrared. So why does the light from an incandescent bulb not look much more red than it does? $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 30, 2021 at 18:29