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I removed external links that served no purpose other than advertising discussion forums. ParasiticToxin ( talk) 07:38, 28 July 2009 (UTC)
This article was written by a kindergarten class. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.19.29.109 ( talk) 23:07, 26 February 2011 (UTC)
I tagged the 10,000 lumens statement as dubious, because I find it incredibly hard to believe that any flashlight produces that many lumens. For comparison, a standard 100 W household bulb produces around 1700 lumens. So scaling linearly (yes, I know incandescents increase in efficiency as power goes up, but this effect is not dramatic) we would expect said "flashlight" to be 588 W or so. I just don't see any handheld device putting out that sort of power, especially one that is battery-operated. Ngchen ( talk) 04:01, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
This Web page http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/flashlight.htm says the Cowan story is not the case. Research needed - I wonder if the 1947 New Yorker is available at my local library 'fiche collection.... -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 16:57, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
Could we get a reference for a flashlight that is "intrinsically safe"? I'm not a hazardous areas expert but from what I've read an "intrinsically safe" device is one that has such low stored energy in it that it cannot ignite a flammable atmosphere. This is different from "non-incendive" or so-called "explosion-proof" devices that are designed either so that sparks and hot spots can't form, or so that any sparks that happen can't set off an explosion outside the device. You can, for example, get an explosion-proof motor starter but it has a heavy cover and deep threaded joints to prevent flames from escaping the enclosure when the contacts break a circuit. It's non-incendive and explosion-proof, but not intrinsically safe. Hmm, the article Intrinsic safety isn't too reassuring either, or maybe IS is more inclusive than I think. -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 04:58, 21 August 2011 (UTC)
At the risk of probably flogging a long-dead argument, elsewhere in the world we use torches - things that illuminate continuously, and that don't flash. Blitterbug 22:10, 23 December 2011 (UTC)
I agree.America is the only place where flashlight is the preferred term where as torch is used in the UK,Ireland and the rest of the english speaking world
Eggilicious (
talk)
23:50, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
What our tagger didn't mention is the criteria that make this C class and what's missing to improve it. The criteria read:
The article is substantial, but is still missing important content or contains a lot of irrelevant material. The article should have references to reliable sources, but may still have significant issues or require substantial cleanup.
...
The article is better developed in style, structure and quality than Start-Class, but fails one or more of the criteria for B-Class. It may have some gaps or missing elements; need editing for clarity, balance or flow; or contain policy violations such as bias or original research. Articles on fictional topics are likely to be marked as C-Class if they are written from an in-universe perspective.
Specific guidance would be more useful than a generic tag. What's missing? What's biassed? What's original research? What are the vague "issues" that displeased the god-like eye? -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 23:53, 30 December 2011 (UTC) Here's what the gods have decreed for B-class
The article meets the six B-Class criteria:
The article is suitably referenced, with inline citations where necessary. It has reliable sources, and any important or controversial material which is likely to be challenged is cited. The use of either <ref> tags or citation templates such as {{cite web}} is not required. The article reasonably covers the topic, and does not contain obvious omissions or inaccuracies. It contains a large proportion of the material necessary for an A-Class article, although some sections may need expansion, and some less important topics may be missing. The article has a defined structure. Content should be organized into groups of related material, including a lead section and all the sections that can reasonably be included in an article of its kind. The article is reasonably well-written. The prose contains no major grammatical errors and flows sensibly, but it certainly need not be "brilliant". The Manual of Style need not be followed rigorously. The article contains supporting materials where appropriate. Illustrations are encouraged, though not required. Diagrams and an infobox etc. should be included where they are relevant and useful to the content. The article presents its content in an appropriately understandable way. It is written with as broad an audience in mind as possible. Although Wikipedia is more than just a general encyclopedia, the article should not assume unnecessary technical background and technical terms should be explained or avoided where possible.
Any help here? -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 23:57, 30 December 2011 (UTC)
Suggest merge the non-redundant contents from Solar powered flashlight here; it's a minor variation in flashlight construction. -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 16:52, 2 January 2012 (UTC)
I'd like to find a good reference for how many lumens is useful for various tasks:
Ranges overlap considerably and personal taste dictates - but it would be useful to turn the abstract notion of "lumens" into ranges that the reader could relate to his own experience. I've found some advertising sites and at least one blog, but I'm really looking for better references. Not finding too many scholarly papers yet, some on miner's lamps and flashlight use in Kenya...but the Web is very wide. -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 14:58, 20 January 2012 (UTC)
IEC hasn't gotten around to writing the definitive standard for flashlight lumens for tasks, so the table with the vague and general categories is as good as its going to get for now; at least it has a published source. Once can't refer to the megabytes of stuff ont eh flashlght enthusiasts forums, which would generally agree with the rough and ready groupings in the table. -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 21:54, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
When I was a boy and the world was new, one unit of grade-school science classes was to teach about electricity by unscrewing the flashlight and showing the battery, bulb, and switch; maybe a little lecture on the reflector, too. A modern flashlight would be better suited to teaching a 3rd year EE course, with converters, pulse-width modulation, microprocessor controls, etc. (If someone has written about it, it might be a useful comment to make in the article - a flashlight may not be the simple model electrical system of years gone by.) It gets worse...we were taught pennies don't stick to a magnet but nickels do, and you can make electricity by stacking "copper" pennies and silver dimes. The first time I saw a bronze-coated steel penny cling to a magnet, a little part of my childhood died....-- Wtshymanski ( talk) 14:56, 24 January 2012 (UTC)
ANSI FL1 used 0.25 lux illuminance, based on a full moon. But we can easily see a magnitude 0 object, it attracts attention in the night sky. The moon is mag -12.5 or so, which makes it (2.51^12.5) about 99,000 times more illuminance than starlight; and the square root of 99,000 is 314. So, you can see a flashlight several hundred times further than the FL 1 0.25 lux "working distance" states; which is why optimistic flashlight vendors prefer to write things like "Projects a beam visible for over a mile!" instead of giving the ANSI working distance of, say, 20 feet. But I need a citation for this....-- Wtshymanski ( talk) 21:27, 14 February 2012 (UTC)
I am thinking this is a worthy topic for its own section.
There are multiple well visited forums where all people do is trade stories on how they upgraded their torches (flashlights). I would think it is a very strong hobby that deserves some mention. There must be a way to add this information without it turning into an advertisement for those forums, yes? — Preceding unsigned comment added by MarcoPolo419 ( talk • contribs) 09:47, 20 April 2012 (UTC)
Each of those types of flashlight is mentioned in the text, and its probably better to collect the pictures in one place than have them competing with text for screen space. -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 20:53, 27 November 2012 (UTC)
Some vandal has apparently gone through and changed most instances of the word "flashlight" to "fleshlight." This should definitely be fixed. 68.235.179.47 ( talk) 04:18, 6 March 2015 (UTC)
Torch is very widespread use, and is not limited to the Commonwealth. ONE example is Ireland. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 171.99.189.241 ( talk) 13:29, 20 June 2015 (UTC)
Can we please change the title of this article to ensure it says "Torch" RyanPLB ( talk) 22:34, 23 April 2021 (UTC)
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As torch is the widely used term, please move this page to Torch. Let's keep the terminology global. -- 27.112.120.117 ( talk) 21:05, 8 December 2018 (UTC)
Wicked Lasers sell the Phosforce, a Laser-Powered Flashlight.
[1]
This is not spam. Laser-Powered Flashlights are likely the future of flashlights. They use less electricity with great beam distance.--
Wyn.junior (
talk)
20:17, 21 December 2018 (UTC)
Does anyone know when was the first LED flashlight was made, patented or sold? Hobbists made an LED lightboxes in the 70's (may be earlier) including a 5mm red or green LED, switch, 9v battery, small plastic box and a resistor to limit current. Not very bright but it worked like a flashlight to read a book or find your way to the bathroom at night. The flashlight museum has a LED model dating to 1980. [3] I'm still wondering, how far back the history of a portable battery powered LED light goes? tygrus ( talk) 01:36, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
References
I'll come back and try to fix this another day, but this article (in addition to other problems noted above) is organized around incandescent flashlights which are now (as of 2021) obsolete and of historical and collector interest only. LED flashlights should be the main focus of the article, with incandescent flashlights an interesting historical mention, rather than the other way around. Uninvited Company 20:26, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
...makes a LED light so powerful that in "strobe mode" it can literally stun people if used as a self defense weapon. I don't recall the exact name, so can it be mentioned? Thanks. Nuclear Sergeant ( talk) 07:29, 8 July 2023 (UTC)
Thr brilliantly flashing strobe effect can cause someone to have a seisure and go down. The Ads I've seen says that this thing can stun even really strong people, and show someone like The Big Show being forced to the ground by the RAPIDLY flashing light. Nuclear Sergeant ( talk) 12:52, 9 July 2023 (UTC)
![]() | This article is written in American English, which has its own spelling conventions (color, defense, traveled) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus. |
This is the
talk page for discussing improvements to the
Flashlight article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. |
Article policies
|
Find sources: Google ( books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
Archives: 1 |
![]() | This ![]() It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | ||||||||||
|
|
|
I removed external links that served no purpose other than advertising discussion forums. ParasiticToxin ( talk) 07:38, 28 July 2009 (UTC)
This article was written by a kindergarten class. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.19.29.109 ( talk) 23:07, 26 February 2011 (UTC)
I tagged the 10,000 lumens statement as dubious, because I find it incredibly hard to believe that any flashlight produces that many lumens. For comparison, a standard 100 W household bulb produces around 1700 lumens. So scaling linearly (yes, I know incandescents increase in efficiency as power goes up, but this effect is not dramatic) we would expect said "flashlight" to be 588 W or so. I just don't see any handheld device putting out that sort of power, especially one that is battery-operated. Ngchen ( talk) 04:01, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
This Web page http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/flashlight.htm says the Cowan story is not the case. Research needed - I wonder if the 1947 New Yorker is available at my local library 'fiche collection.... -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 16:57, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
Could we get a reference for a flashlight that is "intrinsically safe"? I'm not a hazardous areas expert but from what I've read an "intrinsically safe" device is one that has such low stored energy in it that it cannot ignite a flammable atmosphere. This is different from "non-incendive" or so-called "explosion-proof" devices that are designed either so that sparks and hot spots can't form, or so that any sparks that happen can't set off an explosion outside the device. You can, for example, get an explosion-proof motor starter but it has a heavy cover and deep threaded joints to prevent flames from escaping the enclosure when the contacts break a circuit. It's non-incendive and explosion-proof, but not intrinsically safe. Hmm, the article Intrinsic safety isn't too reassuring either, or maybe IS is more inclusive than I think. -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 04:58, 21 August 2011 (UTC)
At the risk of probably flogging a long-dead argument, elsewhere in the world we use torches - things that illuminate continuously, and that don't flash. Blitterbug 22:10, 23 December 2011 (UTC)
I agree.America is the only place where flashlight is the preferred term where as torch is used in the UK,Ireland and the rest of the english speaking world
Eggilicious (
talk)
23:50, 21 March 2012 (UTC)
What our tagger didn't mention is the criteria that make this C class and what's missing to improve it. The criteria read:
The article is substantial, but is still missing important content or contains a lot of irrelevant material. The article should have references to reliable sources, but may still have significant issues or require substantial cleanup.
...
The article is better developed in style, structure and quality than Start-Class, but fails one or more of the criteria for B-Class. It may have some gaps or missing elements; need editing for clarity, balance or flow; or contain policy violations such as bias or original research. Articles on fictional topics are likely to be marked as C-Class if they are written from an in-universe perspective.
Specific guidance would be more useful than a generic tag. What's missing? What's biassed? What's original research? What are the vague "issues" that displeased the god-like eye? -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 23:53, 30 December 2011 (UTC) Here's what the gods have decreed for B-class
The article meets the six B-Class criteria:
The article is suitably referenced, with inline citations where necessary. It has reliable sources, and any important or controversial material which is likely to be challenged is cited. The use of either <ref> tags or citation templates such as {{cite web}} is not required. The article reasonably covers the topic, and does not contain obvious omissions or inaccuracies. It contains a large proportion of the material necessary for an A-Class article, although some sections may need expansion, and some less important topics may be missing. The article has a defined structure. Content should be organized into groups of related material, including a lead section and all the sections that can reasonably be included in an article of its kind. The article is reasonably well-written. The prose contains no major grammatical errors and flows sensibly, but it certainly need not be "brilliant". The Manual of Style need not be followed rigorously. The article contains supporting materials where appropriate. Illustrations are encouraged, though not required. Diagrams and an infobox etc. should be included where they are relevant and useful to the content. The article presents its content in an appropriately understandable way. It is written with as broad an audience in mind as possible. Although Wikipedia is more than just a general encyclopedia, the article should not assume unnecessary technical background and technical terms should be explained or avoided where possible.
Any help here? -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 23:57, 30 December 2011 (UTC)
Suggest merge the non-redundant contents from Solar powered flashlight here; it's a minor variation in flashlight construction. -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 16:52, 2 January 2012 (UTC)
I'd like to find a good reference for how many lumens is useful for various tasks:
Ranges overlap considerably and personal taste dictates - but it would be useful to turn the abstract notion of "lumens" into ranges that the reader could relate to his own experience. I've found some advertising sites and at least one blog, but I'm really looking for better references. Not finding too many scholarly papers yet, some on miner's lamps and flashlight use in Kenya...but the Web is very wide. -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 14:58, 20 January 2012 (UTC)
IEC hasn't gotten around to writing the definitive standard for flashlight lumens for tasks, so the table with the vague and general categories is as good as its going to get for now; at least it has a published source. Once can't refer to the megabytes of stuff ont eh flashlght enthusiasts forums, which would generally agree with the rough and ready groupings in the table. -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 21:54, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
When I was a boy and the world was new, one unit of grade-school science classes was to teach about electricity by unscrewing the flashlight and showing the battery, bulb, and switch; maybe a little lecture on the reflector, too. A modern flashlight would be better suited to teaching a 3rd year EE course, with converters, pulse-width modulation, microprocessor controls, etc. (If someone has written about it, it might be a useful comment to make in the article - a flashlight may not be the simple model electrical system of years gone by.) It gets worse...we were taught pennies don't stick to a magnet but nickels do, and you can make electricity by stacking "copper" pennies and silver dimes. The first time I saw a bronze-coated steel penny cling to a magnet, a little part of my childhood died....-- Wtshymanski ( talk) 14:56, 24 January 2012 (UTC)
ANSI FL1 used 0.25 lux illuminance, based on a full moon. But we can easily see a magnitude 0 object, it attracts attention in the night sky. The moon is mag -12.5 or so, which makes it (2.51^12.5) about 99,000 times more illuminance than starlight; and the square root of 99,000 is 314. So, you can see a flashlight several hundred times further than the FL 1 0.25 lux "working distance" states; which is why optimistic flashlight vendors prefer to write things like "Projects a beam visible for over a mile!" instead of giving the ANSI working distance of, say, 20 feet. But I need a citation for this....-- Wtshymanski ( talk) 21:27, 14 February 2012 (UTC)
I am thinking this is a worthy topic for its own section.
There are multiple well visited forums where all people do is trade stories on how they upgraded their torches (flashlights). I would think it is a very strong hobby that deserves some mention. There must be a way to add this information without it turning into an advertisement for those forums, yes? — Preceding unsigned comment added by MarcoPolo419 ( talk • contribs) 09:47, 20 April 2012 (UTC)
Each of those types of flashlight is mentioned in the text, and its probably better to collect the pictures in one place than have them competing with text for screen space. -- Wtshymanski ( talk) 20:53, 27 November 2012 (UTC)
Some vandal has apparently gone through and changed most instances of the word "flashlight" to "fleshlight." This should definitely be fixed. 68.235.179.47 ( talk) 04:18, 6 March 2015 (UTC)
Torch is very widespread use, and is not limited to the Commonwealth. ONE example is Ireland. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 171.99.189.241 ( talk) 13:29, 20 June 2015 (UTC)
Can we please change the title of this article to ensure it says "Torch" RyanPLB ( talk) 22:34, 23 April 2021 (UTC)
Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified one external link on Flashlight. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
This message was posted before February 2018.
After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than
regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors
have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the
RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{
source check}}
(last update: 5 June 2024).
Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot ( Report bug) 03:37, 2 October 2017 (UTC)
As torch is the widely used term, please move this page to Torch. Let's keep the terminology global. -- 27.112.120.117 ( talk) 21:05, 8 December 2018 (UTC)
Wicked Lasers sell the Phosforce, a Laser-Powered Flashlight.
[1]
This is not spam. Laser-Powered Flashlights are likely the future of flashlights. They use less electricity with great beam distance.--
Wyn.junior (
talk)
20:17, 21 December 2018 (UTC)
Does anyone know when was the first LED flashlight was made, patented or sold? Hobbists made an LED lightboxes in the 70's (may be earlier) including a 5mm red or green LED, switch, 9v battery, small plastic box and a resistor to limit current. Not very bright but it worked like a flashlight to read a book or find your way to the bathroom at night. The flashlight museum has a LED model dating to 1980. [3] I'm still wondering, how far back the history of a portable battery powered LED light goes? tygrus ( talk) 01:36, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
References
I'll come back and try to fix this another day, but this article (in addition to other problems noted above) is organized around incandescent flashlights which are now (as of 2021) obsolete and of historical and collector interest only. LED flashlights should be the main focus of the article, with incandescent flashlights an interesting historical mention, rather than the other way around. Uninvited Company 20:26, 9 November 2021 (UTC)
...makes a LED light so powerful that in "strobe mode" it can literally stun people if used as a self defense weapon. I don't recall the exact name, so can it be mentioned? Thanks. Nuclear Sergeant ( talk) 07:29, 8 July 2023 (UTC)
Thr brilliantly flashing strobe effect can cause someone to have a seisure and go down. The Ads I've seen says that this thing can stun even really strong people, and show someone like The Big Show being forced to the ground by the RAPIDLY flashing light. Nuclear Sergeant ( talk) 12:52, 9 July 2023 (UTC)