The explosion happened as I was inserting the anode end into the plastic sleeve. It (and the flylead) was seriously blackened and so could well have been abnormally weak. As you point out, the explosion did not carry as much force as would a hot lamp blowing up, but the quartz fragments left afterwards looked extremely sharp. Judging from the indentations on the visor and jacket I would have regretted it if I had not been wearing them.

I may not have been handling lamps since 1978 (1991 in my case) but none have been lost after my handling of them before or since this incident.

Type of current = DC
Wattage = 2,000
Lamp voltage = 27
Current = 70 amps
[luminance data skipped]
Current control range = 50-85 amps
Average life = 1,500 hours

and then its dimensions. No mention of gas pressure.

According to Osram's literature, there is 8 to 10 Bar. That means there can be as much as 147PSI, right?

Have you ever SEEN a lamp explode? It's impressive!

Let's just say, for discussion's sake , that somebody took a xenon lamp way out into the woods, set it up on a old tree stump then shot it with a .22 cal. rifle...

Pieces of glass ranging from the size of grains of sand to as large as 3 or 4 inches (10 cm.) would fly over distances of several metres! The metal ends would fly a couple of feet as well.

This hypothetical experiment would be done from a good distance away. (Say, 50 yards or so.) One reason for this would be that this is a more "manly" distance to shoot from. However, if you saw this in person you would be GLAD that you were that far away.

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AFAIK, NASA uses these large lamps in searchlights and in solar energy simulators.

I agree with Leo --- ALWAYS wear protective gear even with "stone cold" lamps.

Needless to say, this was done with the theatre empty, and all doors locked. You'd be very surprised how many people in the West End were involved in this scheme!!!! No names, no pack drill!

Cheers