Will a diode work as a light dimmer when switched or added in series to an incandescent 120 volt AC bulb?

Actually, I have

seen this in a respected electronics magazine (Elektor) quite some

time ago: A diode (selected to be capable to handle the amps, the

voltage and the heat from the bulb - if placed inside the lighting

fixture) is used to "cut off" one half of the AC sine wave and thus

sending pulses of 120V to an incandescent light bulb, simulating a

simple dimming device. The proposal was meant to run 240V bulbs at

50% of their brightness but I am pretty certain this concept can be

used to run 120V bulbs from 240V power.

One other way of connecting 120V bulbs to 240V would be to connect

two 120V bulbs OF THE SAME WATTAGE in SERIES, so the two bulbs form

their own voltage divider. Not sure what happens if one bulb burns

out - I would expect the other one to blow too, as a dying light

bulb represents zero Ohms (plasma/arcing) for a few milliseconds

before it goes dark forever.