Many will find it strange that such a seemingly simple device as everyone is familiar with is a very recent invention. It was invented at the end of the nineteenth century, despite the fact that at that time houses were already almost universally illuminated by electric light bulbs.
Most likely, the creation of a compact portable flashlight was slowed down by the fact that in those days there were no dry batteries. The batteries that existed at that time were containers filled with liquid electrolyte, which were difficult to carry. Therefore, when it comes to this invention, it is worth mentioning Karl Gassner first - it was he who, in 1886, first invented and patented a battery from which, no matter how you look at it, the electrolyte did not leak.
The lamp itself, which became the prototype of modern electric flashlights, was created in 1899 by the American inventor David Maisell. In the same year, he sold his patent to the American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing Company, which was founded by Conrad Hubert, an emigrant from Belarus. Externally, Maisell's invention was very reminiscent of a modern keychain flashlight, only in an enlarged form - it was a thick cardboard tube into which a light bulb with a lens and a metal reflector was mounted. Inside the tube there were three cylindrical power sources. The first flashlight had a switch that was very unusual in its design - in order to light it, you had to press a metal ring attached to a metal hoop covering the body. This rather inconvenient design was soon replaced by a more ergonomic and reliable switch, invented by Conrad Hubert.
Since the batteries did not have a long service life, the first flashlights shone rather dimly and, unlike modern products, were used not as a source of bright light, but as a flash that could momentarily illuminate something necessary. That's why the Americans got the corresponding name for their portable flashlight: flashlight - a flashing light or a flash of light. But the British gave the pocket electric flashlight a different name - torch, that is, torch. This is most likely due to the fact that these devices arrived in Foggy Albion in an improved form. Of course, it was not yet such a bright LED flashlight, familiar to us now, but still it has undergone significant changes for the better.
All this time, Maissell and Hubert worked together to improve the design of the electric flashlight, but they became famous only when their brainchild was appreciated by the New York police officers - the inventors gave them flashlights for advertising purposes.
Serial production of lanterns, which were produced under the Eveready brand, was established in 1905 by The American Ever Ready Company, to which Hubert renamed his company. Now they are widespread and can be used everywhere.
According to history, the first attempts to use artificial lighting on urban streets date back to the beginning of the 15th century.
Back in 1417, the mayor of London, Henry Barton, ordered the hanging street lamps winter evenings. He took this step in order to dispel the impenetrable darkness in the British capital. The French decided not to lag behind and after some time they took up his initiative.
Baselona Gaudi lanterns
At the very beginning of the 16th century, every resident of the French capital was required to keep lamps near the windows that face the street. It was under Louis XIV that Paris was filled with the lights of numerous lanterns. In 1667, he issued a decree on street lighting, for which he received the nickname “Sun King”. According to legend, it was thanks to this decree that Louis’s reign was called brilliant.
Venice
The first street lamps provided relatively little light because they used ordinary candles and oil. Later, when kerosene began to be used, the brightness of lighting was significantly increased, but the real revolution in street light happened only at the beginning of the 19th century, when gas lamps appeared. They were invented by the English inventor William Murdoch. Naturally, at first he was ridiculed. 
Voronezh
Walter Scott himself wrote to one of his friends that some madman was proposing to illuminate London with smoke. These ridicule did not stop Murdoch from bringing his idea to life and he successfully demonstrated the advantages of gas lighting.
Germany
In 1807, lanterns of a new design were installed on Pall Mall and soon conquered all European capitals. In Russia, street lighting appeared under Peter I.
Egypt
In 1706, he ordered lanterns to be hung on the facades of some houses near the Peter and Paul Fortress to celebrate the victory over the Swedes near Kalisz.
Kyiv This chandelier serves as a street lamp near a cafe
In 1718, the first stationary lamps appeared on the streets of St. Petersburg, and 12 years later, Empress Anna Ioannovna ordered their installation in Moscow.
China
The history of electric lighting is associated primarily with the names of the Russian inventor Alexander Lodygin and the American Thomas Edison.
Lviv
In 1873, Lodygin designed a carbon incandescent lamp, for which he received the Lomonosov Prize from the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Such lamps were soon used to illuminate the St. Petersburg Admiralty. A few years later, Edison demonstrated an improved light bulb - brighter and cheaper to produce.
Moscow
With its appearance, gas lamps quickly disappeared from city streets, giving way to electric ones.
Budapest
In Bryansk
Venice
Venice
Venna
Dubrovnik
Egg Castle Bavaria Alps
Zichron Yaakov 19th century
Spain
China city Shenzhen
Kronstadt
London
Lviv
Lviv
Lviv
Moscow
Moscow
Over Damascus
Odessa
Paris
Shevchenko Park Kyiv
Peter
Peter
Turtle area Siena
Rome
Talin
Look around, the world is still full of beautiful things...
An invention such as a lantern turned out to be so useful that it became firmly established in everyday life for obvious reasons. Agree that there is not a single person in the civilized world who has never used this wonderful device! To begin getting acquainted with the world-famous manufacturer of some of the best flashlights in terms of price and quality, I suggest you familiarize yourself with the history of the flashlight itself.
Lanterns in history
Since the time of the “taming” of fire, humanity has always searched for and invented ways to illuminate their lives in certain circumstances. The very first and most primitive lantern can be called an ordinary torch, which had a whole bunch of obvious shortcomings. Then, with the advent of wax, a candle was added to the means of lighting, and with the advent of combustible fuel - a kerosene lamp. Such light sources, although they were more advanced, also had their drawbacks - unsafety, short service life and the release of harmful substances during combustion.
The first street lamps appeared in England in 1417. They owe their appearance to the mayor of London, Henry Barton, who promulgated a decree on lighting city streets in the evenings, especially in winter.
The London lamps looked quite nice.
Subsequently, in 1667, the idea of illuminating the city at night was supported by the French king Louis XIV, who ordered the installation of oil lanterns on poles and houses throughout Paris. He also obliged all residents to install lamps in the windows of houses facing the street.
In our country, street lamps first appeared in St. Petersburg in 1706 by decree of Tsar Peter I, who ordered that the lamps be placed next to the Peter and Paul Fortress as a sign of victory over the Swedes. In 1718, lighting of the Neva River embankment appeared. And in 1730, street lighting appeared in Moscow.
The first street lamps of St. Petersburg.
The appearance of the first lantern is directly related to the invention of the incandescent lamp. The discovery was made by two people at the same time. The first is the Russian scientist Alexander Lodygin, who in 1874 patented a lamp in which coal was first used as a rod, and then tungsten.
The second inventor is the American Thomas Edison, who made a lamp (1879) that was reliable, economical and durable. The success lay in the material for the lamp rod, which used charred bamboo shavings. Edison not only created a model of a lamp that was practical and inexpensive to produce, but also established mass production.
Subsequently, Edison used tungsten as a material for the lamp rod, which was already used by his Russian colleague Alexander Lodygin. This is how two inventors in different countries, one might say, jointly gave the world the incandescent lamp.
But let's return to hand-held lanterns. Now there is a reliable and practical light source, all that remains is to develop a source of portable energy.
Battery history
The first electric battery close to the modern type was invented even before the advent of incandescent lamps in 1866 by the French inventor George Leclanche. It was a fairly large open glass vessel filled with an electrolyte and two electrodes. It is clear that such a power source could not be suitable as a battery for a hand-held flashlight. He was large in size, which is why he lacked mobility. But the main thing is that when the position changes, the liquid could easily pour out. This changed when, in 1896, German engineer Karl Gessner developed a small portable dry-type battery, which consisted of a zinc cylinder filled with a solid, paste-like electrolyte.
The first battery with solid electrolyte.
In fairness, one cannot fail to mention the so-called Baghdad battery, which was discovered in 1936 in the vicinity of Baghdad. The item is a vessel approximately 2,000 years old, containing a copper cylinder with an iron rod inside. The throat is filled with bitumen, and another iron rod with traces of corrosion is passed through it. A copy of the find showed that if you pour acid or wine or vinegar that contains acid into a vessel, the “battery” will begin to produce a voltage of 1 volt. Although this does not prove that the vessel was once used as a source of nutrition, as many skeptics believe. But, as they say, we have what we have.
Baghdad battery
So, power supplies and the incandescent lamp were invented. All that remains is to create the hand-held lantern itself.
Handheld flashlights
Inventor David Maisel distinguished himself here, who in 1896 received a patent for a hand-held flashlight powered by three batteries. The lantern itself had a wooden body and a switch in the form of a metal plate that closed the electrical circuit. In 1898, American emigrant from the Russian Empire and inventor Conrad Hubert founded the Ever Ready Company to produce small batteries. By the way, today everyone knows this company as Energizer.
In the same year, he bought the patent from David and began producing hand-held flashlights. David Maisel remained to work with Conrad and improved the flashlights. This is how the first bicycle lamp appeared, and in 1899 the first hand-held lamp of a more familiar cylindrical shape.
Such flashlights also had a number of disadvantages - they could not shine for a long time (you had to turn off the flashlight - it could not provide stable light for a long period), and the light was rather dim.
Then it was a matter of technology - the company produces the world's first catalog (1899) and another 25 types of flashlights: tabletop, bicycle, handheld and other options. Thus began the era of hand-held electric lanterns - irreplaceable assistants, which replaced more imperfect and dangerous candles and kerosene lamps. Now you don’t need to think about the problem of lighting at the right time and in the right place!
Let's move on to the history of one of the most recognizable brands for the production of technological flashlights.
History of ArmyTek
It all started in 2007 when a small team from Canada became interested in LED lighting. The situation in this market was such that American and European companies offered reliable solutions, but lagged behind global trends in technology, and Chinese manufacturers relied on accessibility, but at the same time, were inferior in quality and technology. Against the backdrop of this situation, the young company decided to take a different path and start producing products that have all the necessary criteria - relative availability, reliability, quality and manufacturability. And we were already talking about the production of lighting equipment.
For these purposes, a team of the best scientists and engineers from the aviation, military and even space industries was assembled. Thanks to this, we were able to achieve amazing results in producing a first-class product. Another important decision was the use of high-quality components from the USA and Japan, in particular, the best LEDs from the American manufacturer Cree.
This is how the first Predator tactical flashlight appeared, which at that time contained many innovative solutions. The flashlight has passed the most severe tests in various climatic conditions.
And in 2009, production was opened in China, due to which it was possible to achieve competitive prices and mass production while maintaining constant quality and modern technologies. This is still facilitated by the use of modern equipment, proven materials and a thorough quality control system for the final product.
The final stage in the formation of the company was legal registration in 2010 in Canada under the name Armytek Optoelectronics Inc.
Why are Armytek flashlights so captivating? As has already been noted, the use of advanced Japanese and American components, the use of the latest technologies and equipment in production in compliance with quality control, as well as reliability, durability and manufacturability. The lanterns can easily survive falling from the tenth floor and being submerged under water to a depth of 50 meters. Tactical options can withstand the recoil of any caliber weapon and continue to operate smoothly. All this is reflected in the company's mission - to provide people with the most reliable and technologically advanced light in the world. The manufacturer's warranty is a full ten years for any flashlight!
And today, Armytek products are used by many people of different professions and occupations around the world: employees in special services, military personnel, security personnel, fishermen, hunters, rescuers, firefighters. Simply put, all those who need just such a trouble-free flashlight that works in difficult conditions, while having high-tech filling and various functions.
In the following articles we will look at various models of Armytek flashlights.
To be continued...
Flashlight, flashlight- small, portable for individual use. In the modern world, pocket flashlights are understood primarily as electric flashlights, although there are mechanical (converting muscle force into electrical), chemical (light source is a chemical reaction) and using open fire.
After the German entrepreneur Paul Schmidt invented the dry battery, he pioneered mass production of the DAIMON electric flashlights, patented in 1906.
Characteristics of flashlights
Almost all flashlights currently sold are LED [ ] . To describe and compare the properties of flashlights, the following main characteristics are used: luminous flux, operating mode, beam color, focusing ability or beam shape, beam range, battery life, protection from moisture, protection from mechanical influences, explosion safety when working in gassy or dusty environments. environments There is an ANSI FL1-2009 standard that describes and unifies methods for measuring and publishing the essential characteristics of hand-held flashlights. Luminous flux and flashlight operating time are mutually contradictory requirements; the greater the luminous flux, the faster the batteries are discharged. The weight of batteries or accumulators cannot be increased without losing convenience; for example, for headlamps, weight is extremely important. The operating mode can be with stabilization of the luminous flux, sometimes with the ability to select it, and then the operating time is known exactly, or in the mode of a smooth decrease in brightness as the discharge occurs, an obsolete scheme that is unpleasant for the eyes. The most optimal shape of a light spot is a uniformly illuminated circle without a bright center, with a smooth decrease in brightness at the edges. Sharp brightness limits tire your eyesight during long periods of work. The ability to focus allows you to change the range of the flashlight, but also with a choice - either to illuminate a distant object well, but with a narrow beam, or to create the same illumination near with a wide beam. Some flashlights have a mode of operation with a colored beam, usually red, this can significantly extend the operating time. The flickering mode serves the same purpose, and it also allows you to attract attention (SOS mode).
Varieties
Tourist
LED flashlight
The largest group of lanterns. This category includes almost any flashlight that does not have a specially designated function.
Security Guard Lantern
A flashlight that combines the functions of a flashlight and a police baton.
Tactical
A special category of flashlights for special forces, army and other law enforcement agencies. They have increased reliability. They, as a rule, can be mounted on a weapon using standard weapon mounting elements - Picatinny rail, Weaver rail and others like that. In such cases, they are often equipped with an external power button connected to the flashlight via a wire.
Emergency
A flashlight included with equipment used in emergency situations. As a rule, electric, although chemical emergency lights are also found in marine kits. The emergency flashlight must have a significant shelf life without loss of performance.
For snorkeling
LED underwater light with and without lens
Distribution of luminous flux from flashlights with and without lens
The flashlight is designed for immersion to significant depths, maintaining absolute waterproofness, which is ensured by design features (sealing O-shaped rubber or silicone rings with sealing lubricant). It should produce a significant luminous flux with minimal scattering on the suspension, which is ensured by both the balance of light intensity in the central spot and side illumination and the temperature of the light. Thus, at ~2700-3000K the reflection from turbidity particles in water is less than at a high color temperature of ~5000-6000K. The aquatic operating environment, on the one hand, increases the requirements for corrosion resistance of the flashlight body, on the other hand, it simplifies cooling. Failed lithium-ion batteries, emitting gas in a completely sealed case, can create an explosion hazard. If there is a loop that is worn on the wrist, it should be easily removed with one hand (i.e., be rubber, not rope), which is dictated by scuba diving safety requirements.
Shakhtyorsky
Railway
In addition to the direct lighting function, it allows you to send color signals (red, yellow, green) using light filters or colored lamps. Initially, special kerosene lamps were used, replaced by lamp lanterns. LED models are currently being produced.
Electrodynamic
Flashlight "Bug", USSR, late 1980s. Early "Bugs" were produced in a metal case.
The electrodynamic flashlight is equipped with a built-in dynamo. The advantage of such a flashlight is its autonomous operation without replaceable power sources - galvanic cells or batteries. Due to the presence of a dynamo, such a lamp is usually operated manually by the user by rotating or pressing a handle connected to the dynamo, which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy, which powers the light source.
In the USSR, electrodynamic flashlights with a built-in dynamo and an incandescent lamp were produced without any trademark. The common people were nicknamed “bugs” for their characteristic sound when working. These “bugs” were equipped with a spring handle.
Modern self-charging flashlights use LEDs as light sources. Self-charging flashlights with incandescent lamps are actually not produced. Today, the market offers a wide segment of self-charging flashlights, which are equipped with the function of charging mobile phones and radios.
The disadvantages of such flashlights include the following properties:
- Design complexity
- Noise during mechanical charging
- Short operating time between charges (with a battery - 10-30 minutes)
Batteries
Powerful spotlight
Battery-powered flashlights
In battery-powered flashlights, the power source is galvanic cells, or batteries. First patent for a portable device with (English) was issued on January 10, 1899, the first commercially available devices date back to 1922.
Battery-powered flashlights
Rechargeable flashlights use a built-in nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride, lead-acid or lithium-ion battery as the power source.
Sources of light
Incandescent lamps
The classic incandescent lamp has a number of disadvantages: low luminous efficiency, short service life, low mechanical strength. Currently, it is practically driven out of use. However, the lamp has a high color rendering index, due to which it is still used in some areas (for example, in medical lamps that should not distort the colors of body tissue).
Halogen lamp
Improved incandescent lamps. The principle of radiation is the same - heating the filament by electric current. The differences lie in the gases filling the lamp bulb. The composition of these gases may differ for different lamps.
It has slightly better performance properties than a conventional incandescent lamp. Gives a significant luminous flux. There are a number of disadvantages: relatively high cost, short service life, high energy consumption, the need to carry spare lamps with you, otherwise there is a risk of being left in the dark, which is unacceptable, for example, for speleologists. Even not very powerful flashlights can get very hot. This is due to the low efficiency of the lamps, as a result of which approximately 90% of the energy is emitted in the so-called “thermal” (infrared) spectrum, which is invisible to the human eye.
LEDs
LEDs are primarily characterized by high radiation efficiency in the visible region of the spectrum, in contrast to incandescent lamps. The LED produces a significant luminous flux, has a very long service life (usually at least 30 thousand hours of continuous operation, in contrast to approximately 50 hours of an incandescent or halogen lamp), low energy consumption, and light weight flashlights with significant brightness. The low weight is due to the high energy efficiency of LEDs and, accordingly, the need to use fewer batteries, which make up a significant part of the flashlight’s weight. The disadvantages include the somewhat unnatural emission spectrum of older LED models. However, modern high-quality LEDs have such high color rendering that they are practically indistinguishable from incandescent lamps. LEDs are also available with a color temperature of 3,000-4,000 K, which is approximately the same as a halogen lamp.
In general, LED flashlights are currently the most convenient for use at home or in other places where a super-powerful luminous flux is not required.
Both an array of ultra-bright 5 mm indicator LEDs and high-power LEDs (Varton, Cree, Philips, Seoul Semiconductor, OSRAM, etc.) with a power of up to 30 W are used. The luminous flux of hand-held LED flashlights reaches 18,000 lumens.
HID
High-intensity discharge. Most of these flashlights use arc gas-discharge metal halide lamps, but there are also models with pure xenon lamps. The most powerful flashlights. The service life of xenon lamps is usually 1,000-3,000 hours. The luminous flux of such flashlights ranges from 500 to 5,000 lumens (for comparison: the luminous flux of a conventional 100-watt incandescent lamp is 1,000-1,500 lumens). The main advantage: a powerful beam of light that can well illuminate objects at a distance of up to several kilometers. The main disadvantage: extremely high cost, significant (2-3 seconds) delay when turning on, often some parts of the flashlights get quite hot during operation, which can cause some discomfort. If you direct a beam of light at a flammable material, a fire may occur (this also applies to powerful incandescent lamps).
