Slashdot Mirror
New 4100 Lumen Flashlight Can Set Things On Fire
i4u writes "Engadget is reporting that Wicked Lasers has introduced The Torch. It is the world's brightest and most powerful flashlight. The Flashlight is capable of melting plastic, lighting paper on fire within seconds, and if you like, fry an egg or a marshmallow on a stick. At 4100 lumens, The Torch is 100 lumens more powerful than The Polarion Helios, the former most powerful flashlight, and retails for around $300. The Torch is apparently also undergoing review at the Guinness Book of World Records."
It would make campfire storytelling even more interesting! "Here's the tale of the man whose face melted off, oooOoooOoohhh AGHH MY FACE IS FALLING OFF!" Subsequently, many camp counselors have crapped their pants at the mere thought.
It pumps out so much light that there is a recoil when you switch it on!
Won't be long before we have phasers.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Last time I bought an extension cord it had 4 different warning labels I had to take off. I wonder how many warning labels this flashlight will carry?
Welcome to the Nanny Nation.
The goggle's - they are not doing nothing!
Will code for new sig.
Now begins the lumens war.
Think how much longer your batteries will last by using the light from the fires you start.
a series of self-ignitions has been reported across the country...
Dang, the lights went out. Now where is my dissertation? Oh crap!
OK, I can understand having rather bright spotlights (for example, to go shooting), but I cannot understand what use this sort of light has for civilian usage.
It is far to dangerous to do many of the things that you often do with bright lights (for example, to go shooting), and so why?
Perhaps it says something in the article? Not that I can see... (Though it does say, 15 minute battery life! WTF is the point of it then?)
I wank in the shower.
4000 lumens should be enough for anyone...
Do not look into flashlight with remaining eye.
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
.. yea; but is it waterproof? for .. you know (All together now..)
... I'll have a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster with a side of Plutonium Nyborg
These are kind of cheap. At first it looked really bright, but I stared into it and after a while, the light is barely visible. I think it's defective.
Slashdot "libertarians": Small government for me, big government for those I disagree with. -1, I disagree with you
With as little a battery life as that thing has, what real practical use could you get out of it?
Or are they anticipating the availability of those new high-capacity batteries with the nanosilicon structures in 'em?
It seems more and more apparent that the limitations of our technology are not so much money and materials, but power consumption. Much like Tim Taylor, we're always looking for 'MORE POWER!'
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure dome decree
next up: terrorists develop luminescent clothes.
Since the wicked lasers page got slashdotted, here's a youtube link to all the videos.
Are you a peeping tom? Ever get teased through those binoculars because she just won't take the rest of her clothing off? Well be teased no longer with The Torch! Burn away those pesky garmets within seconds so you can see exactly what you're spying for!
Now I can have smores in my kitchen. Hopefully not a bonfire though.
Who needs a magnifying glass and a bright sunny day?
Them ants don't stand a chance!
Now if only I can get a set for my car to combat those HID lights. I could really burn their eyes out.
Let me know when you make a Fleshlight version.
Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
and this article just brightened up my day !!!
I've been coming to Slashdot since 1998, and that is one of the most useless posts I have ever seen. Bravo, good fag.
My invention, "An Actual Torch" can set things on fire in even less time. It also has a much more disperse beam so it illuminates a wide area. The only drawback is it has a much shorter range. But then again on the plus side, it can't be accidentally used to destroy airplanes.
Prov 9:8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.
does it run on Aqua Regia?
Great so what percentage of the battery is being dumped out as heat? Surley an array of high bright LED's could kickout more light and almost no heat?
In the not too distant future, next Sunday A.D.
*singing off key* This little light of mine... I'm gonna let it shine... This little light of mine...
....of having a really bright flashlight when everything you shine it on in the dark turns black....
Tolerance does not tolerate intolerance, or hypocrisy.
I guess they wanted to top the warning label "Do not look into laser with remaining eye".
If Wicked Lasers puts a sticker on there that reads "Do not look into torch with remains of skull!", this thing will probably sell like the wildfires it's going to end up starting...
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
I can just see my 10 year old now: "Oh, a torch! Now a can read under the bed covers."
There's going to be a few Darwin Awards generated from this toy.
Open Source Drum Kit, LPLC deve board - mjhdesigns.com
I'm guessing something this awesome is going to get sold out pretty fast.
MacGuyver would have a field day with this thing!
--------
This isn't the sig you're looking for. Move along.
Will it blend?
Now we can rescue the mole people from their subterranean overlords.
Regardless, I'd link to some of them, but the forums there have enough time staying up as it is and they don't need the extra traffic. Here's a beam shot of the Maxablaster shining on some clouds 4 miles up. http://img231.imageshack.us/my.php?image=spotoncloud2dp4ta1.jpg
is this for mounting on the aboveforementioned railgun?
i think the rail gun might need a padded gun stock before it needs this sighting tool though
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Wish you were. Less noise.....
If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
I can't remember the name of this story, but the plot was that someone had invented a fast-time bubble...you got in it and time passed extremely fast for you on the inside, making the outside world appear to be frozen, or move very very slowly. Someone stole it and ran around killing people by shining a flashlight on them from inside the field, burning them to death.
12:50 - press return.
Ummmm don't we have enough forest fires?
waterproof shark harness
Are you a Peeping Tom? Does the person you're "watching" often tease you through your binoculars because she won't remove that silly bra? Well get teased no more! New from Wicked Lasers, it's The Torch!!! Now, just point The Torch at your obsession, press the button, and burn away those pesky garments in seconds!!! Do yourself a favor and see what you've really wanted to see! Buy The Torch!!! 30 easy payments of $10 per week. Act now!
"Do not shine in eyes."
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
A mere toy in comparison to the Galvanic Lucifer.
Karma: It's not just a good idea. It's the law.
It looks like the DEQ is going to need to revise their Smokey commercials. First, campfires, then cigarrettes, now kids walking around with their candle of death.
Once the weather warms up we should have a comparison of the Navy Rail gun vs. this thing over 15 minutes in a forest.
Ah, it's no Galvanick Lucipher.
PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!
I agree.
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
- speakers so loud, they can demolish buildings
- perfume so strong, you can use it for riot control
- food so nutricious, it will kill you
I mean, what's the use of a flashlight so strong? Ran out of matches, is that it?
my other sig is a 500 page novel
How far away are we from this. I can't wait, but I would probably chop my own arm off anyway. Remember playing with flash lights over the camp fire? You are guaranteed you to win every time.
Retrofit the diode into a laser level or a Scophony-like scanner box made from laser printer image scanner assemblies (synchronized rotating mirrors mounted at right angles to sweep a raster).
Submission as evidence constitutes plaintiff and/or prosecutorial misconduct.
For a really good snipe hunt.
Hand the victim a burlap bag and this flashlight, tell him to head out into the bush and chirp like a pig for ten minutes, and then turn on the light...
You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
"So we went to Bobby's party and took some beers out into the woods with this new flashlight he got, and long story short, the fire department is trying their best to turn things around . . ."
Mikey-San
Karma: +Eleventy billion (mostly affected by watching Celebrity Jeopardy)
Yes, I see what you mean. Using these for an oral examination was a bad idea.
But on the bright side, all my plaque is gone.
Does it run Linux??? :-)
You'll put your eye out!
If you've never been modded as "flamebait" or "troll," you've never tried to argue a minority viewpoint here!
Finally, the English can now truly call their flashlights "torches."
Health Insurance Quotes
Flashlight: $299.99
Replacement battery: $279.99
1 hour battery 4-pack special: $999.95 (You Save Over $80!)
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- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
Can someone tell me the difference between Candle Watt and Lumen? My friend has a 1000000 candle watt flashlight. The other day at Costco I found a 15000000 candle watt flashlight. How is this flashlight brighter?
While 4100 lumens is certainly a lot of light... Its certainly not 100 times brighter than the previous brightest flashlights. I have 100 lumen flashlights from surefire kicking around all over, and a quick visit to their site found this on the front page: http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/419/sesent/00 (thats a 500 lumen flashlight) Anyway, all that to say, this is way over-hyped.
Now that I gotta see!
Like the Daystar, but portable!
None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.
So after wiki'ing to figure out how this compares to the Coleman 1,000,000 candle power jobber, i discover i can't just play unit games:
candlepower is lumins / sr
I have to focus my few remaining neurons on my job, so could someone else please explain how the two measurements compare?
Thank-yee.
https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested
"Your flashlight laser is ready"
(I've been jonesing for one of these since I first read "Ringworld", and I am ready - I even know to take headshots at people wearing green)
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
Available in the collections Flatlander and The Long Arm of Gil Hamilton.
A cursory Google search revealed this forum with that pic and some more interesting ones like what the flashlight looks like, the battery pack needed to power it, as well as some more illuminating photos (pun intended).
We're all hypocrites. We all have hidden parts, it's the contrast between them that make us more a hypocrite than others
I usually think of myself as not abysmally stupid, but why can't I safely run a 20ga 100ft cord from my basement to my garage beer fridge? The purpose of the cord is to connect an outlet at one end to an appliance at the other.
Does it matter that one end is in my basement and the other is in my garage? I know some cords are rated for outdoor use and some are not, but what if my garage is attached? Is there something intuitively obvious about 20ga cords that aren't suitable for beer fridges? And how do you know if my beer fridge is one of those little travel jobbies that can run off AC or 12-volt DC, or if my beer fridge is a full size Kenmore? (I drink a lot of beer.)
Something so "mind-numbingly obvious" should be easy to explain. Maybe I'm just abysmally stupid.
http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=maxabl6200mbdd2yi3.jpg
http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=maxabl6200mbu3ru4.jpg
And the light itself
http://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=maxablinverterdr3qi1.jpg
You don't even want to know what using one of these for a colon exam will do. Especially after a big meal of Taco Bell.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
Yeah, that's it. I wanted to avoid slashdotting the servers there, so I didn't provide a link.
Well great. Now I'm not going to be able to bring flashlights on to airplanes. :-/
https://www.facebook.com/digitizeicm -- Show your support for the digitization of the Iron County Miner newspaper archiv
Can't wait until I get pulled over and the police officer shines that in my eyes to see if I'm under the influence or some such nonsense.
These are some of the things molecules do...... given 4 billion years -Carl Sagan
1. Gives a new meaning to "Flash burn"
2. Hit three performing singers at once and it's a "torch song trilogy"...
3. As a method of execution.... Trial by fire... no illusions here
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Industrial cutting lasers are a single wavelength backed by kilowatts of power. This is a flash light with a large band of light frequencies that is nowhere as coherent as a laser. I don't believe for a second that it is the light itself causing the fire. I believe it's the actual heat generated by the bulb. The site http://www.wickedlasers.com/lasers/wicked_lights-74-0.htm seems to be slashdotted so I can't get to anything resembling specifications (bulb type, battery type, etc.) to further justify my position.
A typical 200W 120V conventional incandescent bulb puts out 3900 lumens (says the wikipedia). When was the last time you saw a 200W bulb catch something on fire because it produces just so much light? Good thing they don't make 300W or bigger: we'd have a fire just waiting to start with the flick of a switch.
Misunderstanding of science never ceases to amaze me: it's really bright AND PORTABLE ergo the light itself is causing the fire...nevermind the filament of a conventional incandescent bulb (let alone halogen or xenon arc) is on the order of thousands of degrees. No, it has to be the light!
My horoscope said my misanthropy for today was a 10, now I know why.
:wq
heck, I'm giving this to my son when he becomes a Boy Scout.
Firestarting made easy.
"Teach a man to build a fire, and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life."
To aid Louis Wu in dealing with vampires on the Ringworld. Which is unstable, btw.
E) Do not look into flashlight with remaining face.
Because I have little kids that would not think twice about looking into the cool flashlight.
It may be young kids who don't know better.
It might be 14 year old assholes shining it in someone's face.
Somewhere, sooner or later, this will burn and blind some kids.
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
Hello sir.... so you looked into the light beam and now you are blind in that eye. Can you tell us if the problem is repeatable?... Sir, sir...
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Why does every other story get tagged with 'whatcouldpossiblygowrong'? Is that the replacement for 'thinkofthechildren'?
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
My eyes! The goggles! They do nothing!
If only Doom 3's flashlight had been that effective!
The smores jokes are funny but you don't want that thing anywhere near your package.
Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
The unfortunate thing about warning labels is that they are so prevalent for obvious cases that they no longer have impact for when they are really needed (Warning: If you heat this product to boiling point and pour it on yourself you may experience discomfort or burns). Like Windows "click through" warnings people just ignore them.
Because of their overuse, warning labels no longer have meaning and are mostly useless.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Some body copied my My Light Saber v1.0 beta. Where is my lawyer Jar Jar Binks - Darth Vader
Besides considering that the primary selling point of this gadget is the pure awesomeness of burning things with light, you'd think they could come up with something that looked a bit more menacing, like so. You know something less likely to be mistaken for a harmless toy.
Oh wait.
Google cache to the rescue!
NewslilySocial News. No lolcats allowed.
Not all things are obviously dangerous (like this powerful flashlight). While most warnings are ridiculous, I think one on a seemingly harmless object that is in fact dangerous makes sense. Another example where you would see warnings is on cleaning products because when you combine ammonia ones with bleach chlorine gas will be released. That's not the most obvious thing in the world and that warning has probably saved many lives.
I dunno about you guys but I think I damaged my eyes just watching the video in the article.
See! :-P
No really... I CAN'T SEE!!!
Costs a bit more but better quality and they will demo the light, not just the heat.
http://www.policeone.com/police-products/duty-gear/flashlights/press-releases/1357781/
I think I speak for all the astronomy geeks here when I say I'd like to take that thing and introduce it rather directly to its user, by way of where the sun does not shine. And then switch it on.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
Finally! A Slashdot story where the ever-present whatcouldpossiblygowrong tag actually makes sense.
15 minute burn time? I'd rather (and do) have these:
http://www.jetlites.com/products.html
I have the older NiMH model. Looking forward to getting the Lithium Ion version. 680 lumens and a 5 hour burn time. Lights up the trail nicely!
I'm sure he leaves it on all the time too just trying to ruin your view of the stars on a cloudy night.
I'd use mine to search for the winning Slurm can.
If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
Look at the bright side. (pun intended) When Wesley Snipes carries one of these around in the next Blade movie to burn vampires at least we'll know it's plausible.
[Bender examines Fry's insides with the F-Ray]
Fry: Ow! My sperm!
[Bender examines Fry's insides again]
Fry: Huh. Didn't feel anything that time.
Life would be easier if I had the source code.
You're just falling victim to the Megalumens Myth.
There exist chainsaws which have the following warning label:
So yes, I absolutely do think chainsaws should have fewer warning labels, as anyone who actually seriously considers stopping a chainsaw blade with their genitals should never, ever be allowed to reproduce. Let them be selected out!
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
Think of it as evolution in action.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
I wonder if one of these puppies would be overkill for replacing my mobile phone when I'm looking for my keys in the dark...
But I think I'm going to hold off purchasing one until someone comes up with Niven's Flashlight-laser.
CyberKender
Apparently Appointed Lord Mayor of There
It will complement the company's already-popular children's toys: Pretty Peggy Ear-Piercing Set, Mr. Skin-Grafter, General Tron's Secret Police Confession Kit, Doggie Dentist, and the best-selling Bag o' Glass.
Now banned from all flights: any light-emitting device whatsoever.
Were that I say, pancakes?
Yow!
The Surefire 6P Original puts out 60 lumens with the original bulb, 120 with the optional high-output bulb. Their more powerful handheld flashlights are 105/200, and the LED models put out 80 for the smaller ones, or 100 for the bigger ones.
4100 lumens in a handheld light will probably blind you if you try to use it the way you suggest. Blinding the other guy doesn't help you that much if you the light reflected from the surfaces you point it at blind you too.
I've got 4x 6500 Lumen projectors that I use at work, and I DEFINITELY can't light anything on fire with them. (I tried)
People who think they know everything really piss off those of us that actually do.
Have gnu, will travel.
why?
"These go to eleven!"
...if you crossed the beams?
Tried the maker's website...."can't connect to DB 1Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock' (11)"
Seems like something got cooked...
I clicked the link and got a pop-under ad for LASIK eye surgery. Coincidence?
for when you're stranded on a life raft and need to flash an SOS up to the space shuttle or weather satellite.
J
I meant to mod you "Funny" and misclicked "overrated". This post is to negate that.
And you thought "crossing the beams" was just in the movies.
Finally, we have a torch that can both provide light and a source of fire. Wait a minute...
or a carbide lamp
about to explode?
DO NOT BEAM ME!
RR
Dr. Egon Spengler: There's something very important I forgot to tell you.
Dr. Peter Venkman: What?
Dr. Egon Spengler: Don't cross the streams.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Why?
Dr. Egon Spengler: It would be bad.
Dr. Peter Venkman: I'm fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean, "bad"?
Dr. Egon Spengler: Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.
Dr Ray Stantz: Total protonic reversal.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Right. That's bad. Okay. All right. Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon.
bickerdyke
It's only a matter of time before some unsuspecting fool grabs it in an attempt to locate the source of a fuel leak underneath his car.....
Knowing Google's lust for data collection, the Soviet Union is still alive and well inside the psyche of Sergey Brin....
HID has been around for ages, as have other lighting technologies. The more Watts your light source drains, the more power is output in heat and light. Apart from those obvious points, one thing remains: form factor. If you truly want a light that you can use for 15 minutes and no more, this is innovative. If you want this kind of portable light source with reasonable usage times, look into the emergency search & rescue area or the scuba community. Disclaimer: scuba lights are usually designed with the heat transfer rates of water, not air, in mind. Finally, if you want to build those things yourself: http://www.tauchfunzel.de/OSTAR1_en.htm
Once we, as humankind, were able to put a few of our fellow man on the moon. On the *fucking* moon! Think about it, they left the ball of dirt we all take for granted, flew off into space, landed on another heavenly body. And returned, safely!
In order to do that you need balls and you have to take risks. Not just the insanely brave astronauts, but also as a people. Just to defy common sense and say: "yes, it might be risky, it might be impossible, but goddamn we're going to put a man on the moon!".
How on gods green earth have we now become a litigious race of pussified wankers that can't take personal responsibility or grasp the concept that hot things maybe hot, and sticking live extention cords in you ass might be a bit of a shocker?
Unbe-fucking-lievable!
Can it blind a limo driver with a princess on the backseat?
"It burnsss uss!"
i ate crayons when i was a kid and now i have two braincells and the blue ones taste nicer
Well, I'll keep trying until I post THE most useless post ever.
I was only trying to be funny, because I would have no practical use for this flashlight, nor do I think would most people.
Next time when I have nothing to say, I'll just keep quiet as not to offend your overly sensitive nature.
And just to make sure this horse is *dead*, I was quoting a line from Seinfeld.
Now I don't need to worry about getting eaten by a Grue.
IMHO, it's just an expensive (and dangerous) novelty item to show off with no REAL purpose.
U could always build one out of the right bulb & an aluminum reflector, but most people would rather spend the $300.
How does 3000 Lumens (Maxablaster) make 4100 Lumens look weak sauce again?
First of all the Wicked Laser flashlight in question doesn't put out 4100 Lumens. Real world testing shows that the formulas used to estimate the lumens of the bulb in that flashlight are about 2x as high as they really are at the power level the light is using.
Second, the light coming from the Wicked Lasers flashlight isn't very well collimated. It's one thing to make a lights that seems bright from 3' away. It's another to make one that seems bright from miles away. Being able to put a visible spot on a cloud 4 miles away or light up buildings from 6.2km away is a lot more impressive than lighting stuff on fire from a few inches away regardless of the lumen output.
Finally, There are far more powerful lights (in terms of lumens) made by other members on the CandlePower Forums. There is one light with 14000 bulb lumen. So, it's certainly not the worlds brightest flashlight.