What do flashlights do

The tungsten filament or LED glows when electricity flows through it, thus producing visible light. Tungsten is a natural element and the tungsten filament is a very thin wire. Tungsten lamps must be replaces when the tungsten filament breaks. An LED contains a very small semiconductor diode that is encapsulated in epoxy and this part emits light when electricity flows through it.

LED's om flashlights are widely considered "unbreakable" and not replaced — a lifetime lamp. But just how does a flashlight work? Can't find your desired flashlight use listed here? Feel free to contact one of our well-versed customer service representatives, who can help answer any questions you may have regarding the products we offer.

With smart-phones today, many people have wrongly removed the need for a separate flashlight or illumination tool from their collection of essential supplies. What they don't realize is that those handheld flashlights are brighter and last longer than those on your cell phone. They are also more reliable and can triple as also a communication and a self-defense tool. You cannot run around the neighborhood using your smart-phone to illuminate the path in front of you. You cannot comfortably hold a phone in your mouth as you tinker around in the hood of your car, while it's broken down on the side of the road.

Flashlights are an essential tool for surviving the ups and downs of life. Whether you use them every day or sporadically, these illumination tools make life that much easier.

Browse through our selection of lights to find the right one for your individual needs. Have questions? Please do not hesitate to contact one of our product knowledge experts. Read More. But how does an LED flashlight work? An LED, or light-emitting-diode flashlight, works by moving electrons to create light. A semiconductor material, such as silicon or gallium, is modified so that current can flow through it.

The light is created by modifying the path of electrons in the semiconductor. Understanding how an LED works requires some basic knowledge of chemistry, electricity, and light. Knowing how they work will help you understand why they provide more light with greater efficiency than incandescent bulb flashlights. Traditional flashlights use an incandescent bulb powered by a battery to provide light.

The current from the battery heats the filament wire inside the bulb, causing it to glow and give off light. Incandescent bulb flashlights have been in use since , but they are inefficient. The heat from the bulb is wasted energy, and turning the flashlight on and off frequently causes the filament to burn out. Light-emitting diode LED flashlights, which were first sold in the early s, rely on the movement of electrodes to create light. Because of the way they generate light, LED flashlights use less power than traditional or halogen flashlights.

At the same time, they can generate more light. Before they could be used in flashlights, several technical advances were required. Finally, incandescent flashlights are less expensive than LED lights; however, both the batteries and bulbs of an LED last much longer. When you factor in the replacement costs, LED flashlights are less expensive in the long run. Biard and Gary Pittman, while working on developing semiconductors. Shortly after that, IBM began to use them in punch-card readers.

So, how do LED flashlights create light? They do so through the movement of electrons through a semiconductor. But what is a semiconductor, and how does the movement of electrons create light? To explain that, we will start with semiconductors. A semiconductor is made from a substance that is a poor conductor of electricity.

Impurities added to the material allow it to be manipulated to conduct electricity in some instances but not others. Silicon is a commonly used element as in Silicon Valley , although another element, gallium, is used to manufacture LEDs. The process, however, is the same. However, when other elements are added to it, silicon can conduct electricity—hence a semiconductor. The first step in creating a light-emitting diode involves adding impurities into the silicon, also known as doping.

Two kinds of doping—N and P--are required for the diode. A transistor is created by using three layers of a diode. A silicon chip can hold thousands of transistors, thus creating the silicon chips that run our computers and a multiple of other electronic devices. None of those would be possible without the diode. To understand this, a bit of background about atoms and photons is required.

Light is created from atoms into little packets of energy that can move but contain no mass. When these packets are combined, they form photons--basic units of light. We know that atoms consist of electrons that orbit a nucleus. If left undisturbed, the electrons remain within their orbit. However, if electrons are forced to move into a lower orbit, they create photons. That is the reason that you cannot see the light that comes from a remote control.

For us to see the photons, silicon needs to be doped with materials that create more energy. A variety of colors can be generated from LED lights by using different materials. The common element is gallium, but other elements create a broad spectrum of color options:.

Because diodes do not emit light effectively, so they are designed to have the photons reflect away from the resin body the diodes sit on. Also, the transparent plastic epoxy shell that protects the diode is designed to concentrate the light.

Most of the energy generated from an incandescent light is not light, but heat. In an LED, however, almost all energy is emitted as light waves. To combat this, light engineers use adhesives, base plates, and pads that isolate the excessive electricity and conduct it away from the diode.

Design features in the case, such as ridges, increase the surface area, allowing more heat to dissipate. Removing this excessive heat is something we will touch on later in a discussion on extremely bright LED lights. Incandescent and cheap LED flashlights are powered through a direct drive , meaning powered directly by the battery. This direct method is straightforward, but it also means that light output is based on how much juice a battery has.

As your battery runs down, the flashlight dims. Most LED flashlights have a driver that regulates the voltage the lights receive. These drivers can perform a variety of functions:. Drivers are classified by their function. For example, a FET driver uses a transistor and microprocessor to regulate current. A boost, or step-up circuit, increases the input voltage, so it matches the output. Flashlights that can work with either one or two batteries use a boost circuit.

A buck circuit reduces the voltage, and it is typically used in lights that have cells connected in series. A buck-boost circuit can boost and reduce voltage. Although circuits such as the AKMode are available for sale, they are bought by enthusiasts and collectors who want to modify their flashlights.

Lumen is a word that gets thrown around frequently. The more lumens, the brighter the light—but what exactly are lumens? The simple answer is that a lumen is a way to measure light output. Another aspect of flashlight reflectors is the angle at which they are positioned, this also determines beam distance or throw.

Flashlight Switches. This is also a very crucial part of any flashlight. The switch not only allows you to make a complete circuit of the power source to the light source but in some cases, it will also regulate the amount of Lumens the flashlight will output. Depending on the brand of flashlight some will have a rear switch or a side switch or both. Some examples are the Fenix E30R which has only a side switch operation.

Another example is the Fenix TK16 V2 which has only a rear switch operation. The switch as mentioned before will allow you to turn the flashlight on and off. It can also allow you to increase or decrease a number of lumens. Some modern flashlights are digitally regulated, this means that they will automatically step down from their current lumen output they reach a certain temperature or when a certain amount of power has been lost. Many flashlight companies do this a protective and preventative measure.

Body Structure. You will find that most flashlights today are made of an aluminum, steel, or plastic casing. The most common being aluminum specifically in LED flashlights since they allow for even heat dissipation and weight considerably less than steel or copper.

There are usually two or three parts to a body casing for a flashlight. The headpiece will hold the LED or bulb, circuit board, and reflector. This part can be sometimes integrated with the body of the flashlight. The body of a flashlight will hold the batteries securely in place, and depending on the model may also have a switch.