I hypothesize that the idea of HID xenons for use on cars came from ye old strobe light you see used in labs of all sorts and dance halls too...

The bulb or tube used for such applications are xenon flash tubes... that is why they have that slightly blueish but clear white lighting effect...

If our hid xenon bulbs are anything like those of the strobe light xenons then I highly doubt flashing them will burn them out.... cause the xenon tubes used for strobes run on 60 hertz AC or alternating current. That's on and off cycling 60 times a second... that is why we see light as continuous glow..... if we adjust the frequency, which strobes are capable of, then you can see the on and off effect (flashing)....

Our cars run on DC or direct current so it is a continuous flow to keep the tube or bulb lit....

I had built a strobe light back in the days of high yet I just realized it after have my max for a few months....

But since it was designed as automotive headlights, flashing it like a strobe light may not be good....

 

what you describe is the operation of the ballast, not the bulb.

Our HIDs have a metallic coating on the surface for the arc. think annode/cathode. Each time you fire up the HIDs, that surface corrodes alittle during the warm up. While this would take the life of the car to kill the bulb, flashing them will hasten the demise.

Strobes are made of totally different materials, just the gas in the bulb is the same.