Man Creates DIY Handheld 38 MILLION Candlepower Flashlight

[jpeyton]

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Pics

Watch him accidentally shine that into a airliner cockpit and get sent to FPMITA prison.

 

[Throckmorton]

I hope someone he shines it on 4 miles away sues him for the retina scarring he sustains.

 

[oogabooga]

that's absolutely absurd.

Ralf Ottow was standing in front of his bathroom mirror one morning when he noticed that his forehead was sunburned. He hadn?t been out tanning?his homemade flashlight had fried his skin.

The 45-year-old Dutch optics engineer has been building his own lights since he was eight, but his recent 38-million-candlepower creation, the Maxablaster, is more like a miniature star. To start, Ottow stripped out the innards of a powerful commercial flashlight and switched in a mercury arc bulb, which generates light by creating an ultra-hot plasma between two closely spaced electrodes inside the gas-filled central chamber of the lamp. That results in a brighter, more focused beam but also kicks out more ultraviolet light (hence the sunburn, a product of early testing). So he added a specially coated reflector and designed, ground, and coated a new glass window that would trap UV rays while still pumping out light.

Powered by a pack of 54 batteries, the Maxablaster can put a bright spot of light on a cloud four miles high and illuminate a house from just as far. But Ottow doesn?t use it to spook his neighbors. ?It?s not a torch you?d walk your dog with,? he says. ?It would probably cook your dog.?

 

[ja1484]

That.

Is awesome.

 

[destrekor]

heh. That'd be weird being a ferry, imagine that its all alone on empty waters, and all of a sudden, it very well illuminated. lol Imagine what would run through your mind, trying to determine how the hell your boat was just fully lit up as if by moon. Even weirder if the moon wasn't out, or it was a new moon night.
I'd have fun with that, but only with ultra distant objects.

 

[cthulhu]

Wow. It'd be a cool diy project but very dangerous. I can imagine some a-hole blinding motorists on a highway.

 

[nonameo]

So, how long do you have to shake it for?

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: nonameo
So, how long do you have to shake it for?

:laugh:

 

[newnameman]

More pics: http://candlepowerforums.com/v...goto=lastpost&t=125819

 

[PHiuR]

i'd love to cook some breakfast with that light.

 

[Shadowknight]

It'd be very useful for signaling for help if you were lost at sea or while hiking in the mountains, I suppose.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Shadowknight
It'd be very useful for signaling for help if you were lost at sea or while hiking in the mountains, I suppose.

could also start you a fire to survive on that mountain.

 

[Canai]

Originally posted by: ja1484
That.

Is awesome.

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: Shadowknight
It'd be very useful for signaling for help if you were lost at sea or while hiking in the mountains, I suppose.

I would love for you to show me the hiker that totes a 54-battery light along with them on the trail, just in case.

This thing uses a Mercury Arc bulb guys. It creates a small amount of plasma between two metal tips. Essentially, he has placed a small star in a carrying case.

 

[her209]

Your schwartz is as big as mine.

 

[dighn]

Originally posted by: destrekor

Originally posted by: Shadowknight
It'd be very useful for signaling for help if you were lost at sea or while hiking in the mountains, I suppose.

could also start you a fire to survive on that mountain.

or if you need to take out a spy satellite

 

[Kelemvor]

That's neat. Not sure on the application of it but it's sure cool.

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Originally posted by: ja1484

Originally posted by: Shadowknight
It'd be very useful for signaling for help if you were lost at sea or while hiking in the mountains, I suppose.

I would love for you to show me the hiker that totes a 54-battery light along with them on the trail, just in case.

This thing uses a Mercury Arc bulb guys. It creates a small amount of plasma between two metal tips. Essentially, he has placed a small star in a carrying case.

I'd do it. It's only 13 lbs.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl

Originally posted by: ja1484

Originally posted by: Shadowknight
It'd be very useful for signaling for help if you were lost at sea or while hiking in the mountains, I suppose.

I would love for you to show me the hiker that totes a 54-battery light along with them on the trail, just in case.

This thing uses a Mercury Arc bulb guys. It creates a small amount of plasma between two metal tips. Essentially, he has placed a small star in a carrying case.

I'd do it. It's only 13 lbs.

There are actually smaller custom units on the market (about the size of a Mag 4D) that are fitted with HID lamps. That might be a better option for a signaling hiker; more compact, but still able to send a spotlight deep into the sky.

 

[xSkyDrAx]

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl

Originally posted by: ja1484

Originally posted by: Shadowknight
It'd be very useful for signaling for help if you were lost at sea or while hiking in the mountains, I suppose.

I would love for you to show me the hiker that totes a 54-battery light along with them on the trail, just in case.

This thing uses a Mercury Arc bulb guys. It creates a small amount of plasma between two metal tips. Essentially, he has placed a small star in a carrying case.

I'd do it. It's only 13 lbs.

It looks like it could be quite useful in such circumstances and also for fending off hostile wildlife. Nothing like frying a mountain lion with a flashlight :Q

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl

Originally posted by: ja1484

Originally posted by: Shadowknight
It'd be very useful for signaling for help if you were lost at sea or while hiking in the mountains, I suppose.

I would love for you to show me the hiker that totes a 54-battery light along with them on the trail, just in case.

This thing uses a Mercury Arc bulb guys. It creates a small amount of plasma between two metal tips. Essentially, he has placed a small star in a carrying case.

I'd do it. It's only 13 lbs.

13 pounds. You've apparently never gone on a long backpacking trip, the kind that takes you far enough from the road where such a light could be handy once in a 1000 outtings. "I know, I'll skip the tent, the mat, the food, the water purifier, the toilet paper... I'll bring a flashlight instead!"

 

[Ika]

What if you could have a lightsaber fight with that thing

 

[Darwin333]

Its a friggen death ray.

I want one.

 

[RossMAN]

/me waits for someone to mount those on a Hummer as headlights.

 

[SampSon]

Thats rad.