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!
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.
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...
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
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
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!
Let me know when you make a Fleshlight version.
Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
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.
Will it blend?
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
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!
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.
Finally, the English can now truly call their flashlights "torches."
Health Insurance Quotes
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
Available in the collections Flatlander and The Long Arm of Gil Hamilton.
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.
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"
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'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.
Seems the GP was pointing out the reality distortion inherent in the article. The summary mentions that the torch can set things alight, and that it is quite bright at 4100 Lumens. Most people at this point seemed to have connected the dots to think that the brightness is related to its setting things on fire.
Not true.
Lumens specifically measures the visible light, and as far as brightness goes 4100 is pretty meager for a bulb, quite good for a handheld device though. Why is that a spotlight can put out 15-25,000 lumens yet the beam does not even feel warm? Reference (PDF) (and yes, I have tested this first-hand).
The heat generated is by a light is completely irrelevant to its lumens rating, so whilst in nerdland it is quite correct that heat is just another wavelength of light, in this case the heat and light are two separate things. The light is the 4100 lumens boast, and the heat is the invisible and unmeasured infrared source coming from the bulb.
Now banned from all flights: any light-emitting device whatsoever.
Were that I say, pancakes?
Finally, we have a torch that can both provide light and a source of fire. Wait a minute...
"It burnsss uss!"
i ate crayons when i was a kid and now i have two braincells and the blue ones taste nicer
Now I don't need to worry about getting eaten by a Grue.
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.