A flashlight that can start a fire?
 

The Norway train video started with an ad for a flashlight so powerful that you can light paper on fire with it in seconds. I thought it was a joke. But it's not. Am I the only one who thinks this is incredibly dangerous and ill-advised?

Now we know why the Brits call them "torch"es.

I think some of the insane "flashlights" discussed here can be dangerous at close range.

What's the make/model of the one advertised?

Might make snow shoveling in Norway go a little faster.

I have a Fenix that you do not want to look into when it's set to high But start a fire? Nope...

The "inexpensive" dive lights I used for cavern/cave and night diving in the 80s couldn't be run above water - they'd get too hot and pop bulbs. I could easily see a light with a big/bad enough bulb that could cause a fire, but we are beyond the halogen, etc. bulbs these days.

I saw a YouTube commercial the other night, that showed a flashlight, that started paper on fire, burned a hole/line in a plastic bag and cooked an egg in a small pan.

Powerful laser. I can burn a hole in sheetrock paper a few feet away with a 2.5 watt laser. Now you can order 10+ watt ones.

Unfortunately idiots are going to hurt people with these.

Way back in the 60s when I was still in grade school we had a school assembly. Mr. Science had a little science show for the kids. He talked about the new LASER and how it worked, and he admitted at the time it was an invention that they had yet to find any practical use for it.

He then talked of Mylar and how the upcoming moon lander would be covered in Mylar. He then showed us the future of computers and television, magnetic tape!

Flashlights that are hot enough to start a fire have been around a while.

And put them on the light bar of their picken up truck with a 2 foot lift kit.

Lots of affordable 3 - 7 watt lasers under a $100 that will start fires, light matches, pop ballons, burn wood.

https://usa.banggood.com/search/laser-module.html?from=nav

what's the application of laser flashlight or laser for the general public beside pointing at a screen during a presentation? I am kind of dumb but can't seem to figure it out.

NFW would that be legal for sale in the US. There are UL certifications for light sources and if you can start a fire or take your eye out, it won't be a consumer product. I have seen that commercial. It is BS.

That said, laser based flashlights are real and they use a laser to excite a phosphor. That creates a very bright and concentrated white light spot. The smaller the spot the more narrow a light beam can you create. This is how laser high beam headlights work on cars. The light is not direct laser light. It is white (multiple wavelengths) and incoherent, which makes it safe to your eyes.

And almost no one does a presentation that is not run from a computer and they have a mouse pointer to point out the points of discussion.

I have to agree, they are just a cool toy with no practical use. I do however have a level with a laser in the end and side. It is great to use in a darkened room to show a level line on a wall or project.

Some folks use stronger (but not crazy strong) green lasers for astronomy, especially when there are outreach parties where a bunch of folks setup a bunch of telescopes at a location and invite non-stargazers to look through the scopes. From what I understand, a green laser is the easiest/best way to point at something in the sky so that the other person can tell what you're pointing at.

Then don't forget there are pilots that lots of morons like to point them at.

I'm sure a lot of it is that it's "cool." When I was younger, I'd have loved to have a visible laser. That would be every kid's dream, especially considering all of the sci-fi movies had lasers as weapons.

Some folks never grow out of that, which is fine, but then some of those folks have their heads up their rears and end up doing stupid stuff. Fortunately, those folks are the tiny minority but also the folks that we hear the most about.

There is none. Lasers are very useful in science, medicine, industry, transportation, etc but there really is zero use as a flashlight unless somehow the light can be transformed into a broader spectrum.

Apparently that is a thing

The laser based lights convert the laser light internally to white light by conversion using a phosphor. This makes the light incoherent and adds many wavelengths. So the light coming out of the flashlight is NOT a laser any longer. You can make a hand held search light this way, with a beam that can go out 5x further without spreading significantly. This is something that previously would have required large optics to achieve.

Again, laser headlamps in cars are a reality today. No, they are NOT laser beams going down the road. And no, you can't burn paper with the laser headlamps either. :D

^ That would be super efficient. I wonder if they're durable, and the service life?

In Thailand they had these for sale 3-4 years ago and I nearly bought one… then I got to thinking how much 5hit I could (and likely would) get into with it so I put it back.

Impressive though.