On Friday, August 19, 2016 at 12:34:48 PM UTC-4, wrote:
There can be arcing, that is why some of the new GFCI units have arc detection built in. Arc detection is mandatory for some circuits, as far as I have heard about the latest version of the National Electric Code.

Not on lighting circuits.

Where are you going to get an arc in a light bulb base?

There is too much metal to metal contact on the threads, it's just not going to happen. It would have to be completely corroded all the way around and then have one gap. It defies common sense. But that's where the corrosion or gunk or whatever it is that makes the bulb stick in the socket is.

I could see a possible arc between tip of the bulb and bottom contact when screwing the bulb in hot. Sometimes you'll get a blink when doing that slowly. But if your bulb were doing that in use, you'd see it going on and off.

One thing that definitely happens when you screw a bulb in too hard is you flatten that bottom tab out. That bulb may work but the next one often doesn't. You have to take a popsicle stick or something similar and bend it back out.

When a bulb blows there is an arc at the break in the filament. An arc has a negative resistance curve but there's a built in fuse or it would always trip the breaker.