I had the weirdest dream last night.

[fyrstormer]

I mean, seriously...like, inside-out houses, storm clouds made of electricity that shot out bolts of water, I lived in the Midwest instead of near the coast...it was like Opposite Day or something. But the weird thing that's actually pertinent to this forum is I was carrying a McGizmo made of greenish-clear glass, with a TIR optic, shaped more or less like a McLux3-T except the head and body had decagonal profiles, so they had ten flat sides instead of being round. (Apparently it was something like a Happy Meal toy, except I got it from KFC. Give-away McGizmos...I told you everything was backwards. oo It was actually very pretty when I turned it on, like those prisms they used to use on old sailing ships to let sunlight into the lower decks.

Don, I know you've got a thing for flashlights and you used to work for a company that made boat stuff. I need you to get on this ASAP. Let me know if you need a beta tester.

 

[carrot]

I want one!!!

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Fyrstormer, you've seriously got to lay off the pepperoni pizza late at night. :laughing:

 

[fyrstormer]

Fyrstormer, you've seriously got to lay off the pepperoni pizza late at night. :laughing:

Is that what you kids call it these days?

Nah, all I had was a glass of Prosecco with dinner. That stuff doesn't have an expiration date...does it? :thinking:

 

[McGizmo]

I ate peperoni pizza late last night but danged if I had such a dream! :green:

I do occasionally see a post here about clear aluminum and to my very limited if not outright false understanding, sapphire is a crystal based on aluminum oxide? I would imagine that at some point in time science will allow us to grow and shape sapphire crystal in a form of our design. I have been limited to using flat sapphire windows and one sapphire lens but I would welcome a chance to extend the use of sapphire in a flashlight. Of course there is a carbon crystal that could boast even greater physical and thermal properties as it relates to use in a flashlight but it's kind of pricey at present and there are probably some folks like Debeers who would be motivated to impede the controlled growth and forming of such crystals. :shrug:

While I am out there and in way over my head, the LED of course should be integral and grown on the parent host (substrate) of either sapphire or diamond for ultimate thermal and mechanical bonding. This of course would preclude a bunch of mods! :nana:

fyrstormer,
When I get a DARPA grant to pursue the fantastic based on my complete lack of qualifications, I'll bring you on board as a beta tester, rest assured. In the mean time perhaps simple rest is the key?

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I'm not a physicist but I fully believe that someday we will have atomic printers, similar in concept to the 3D printers that we have today, that will enable us to build something an atom at a time.

 

[McGizmo]

I'm not a physicist but I fully believe that someday we will have atomic printers, similar in concept to the 3D printers that we have today, that will enable us to build something an atom at a time.

I agree. I saw on one of the gee whiz channels where they are anticipating building living organs like hearts by 3D replication of cell tissue, one layer at a time (a cloned cell based on the person in need). Just a lego assembly based on the block material of your choice!

Somehow I don't see this technology on the end cap display in Target but what do I know?!?!

 

[nfetterly]

WOW - WAAAAAAY too much MSG I think. Okay - I have some weird dreams - but details like "decagnol" sided - WOW - McGizmos. Wild!!

My father-in-law says that he can "program" his dreams.

 

[fyrstormer]

I almost never remember my dreams, but when I do, they are extremely detailed.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I almost never remember my dreams, but when I do, they are extremely detailed.

Are they in color or black & white? I believe most people dream in B&W unless a particular color is important to the story. I know this is the case for me.

 

[Apollo Cree]

Of course there is a carbon crystal that could boast even greater physical and thermal properties as it relates to use in a flashlight but it's kind of pricey at present.

The death squad has already traced your IP address and is headed your way....

 

[fyrstormer]

Are they in color or black & white? I believe most people dream in B&W unless a particular color is important to the story. I know this is the case for me.

It's probably better stated that visual information in general is only remembered if it's significant, as with any of the other senses. Call it lossy data compression, hence why dreams can happen so fast.

In this case the visuals were quite vivid. I remember the color of the glass was very much like a Coke bottle, but with with a rippled outer texture, bubbles in the glass, and some kind of faceting on the inner surface that refracted light to obscure the metal tube, battery, and optics within.

As for the issue of heat dissipation that Don alluded to, it was not a particularly bright light, but at the same time with a TIR optic a light doesn't need to be particularly bright to throw far. I had a Surefire E1L for a while, rated at a quarter the brightness of my Arc6, that could throw just as far. With a lightly-frosted lense, it could probably provide decent spill as well.

In real life, acrylic would probably be a better choice, because it wouldn't shatter if dropped. Icon makes a light entirely out of plastic, which makes a good proof of concept that not all lights need great heatsinking, and really as long as the interior of the light has sufficient heatsinking capacity to support intermittent use, it's not necessary to have any dissipation to the outside.

 

[smokelaw1]

Of course there is a carbon crystal that could boast even greater physical and thermal properties as it relates to use in a flashlight but it's kind of pricey at present and there are probably some folks like Debeers who would be motivated to impede the controlled growth and forming of such crystals. :shrug:

Yeah! Forget this Titanium stuff, and heat transfer be damned. You want scratch resistance? You want THE light of envy? You want a DIA PD-S!

 

[McGizmo]

smokelaw1,
Heat transfer would be the best of all worlds! You might suffer some with run time because the batteries would be cooler and not operating at more optimal higher temperatures.

 

[smokelaw1]

smokelaw1,
Heat transfer would be the best of all worlds! You might suffer some with run time because the batteries would be cooler and not operating at more optimal higher temperatures.

Shows you what I know about these new high end Mc-Dia-lights. I didn't realzie that lower wasn't always better, when it comes to batteries.

I'll take one anyway! But only if it's a PD.