The Power of the Hand Crank Flashlight

The hand crank flashlight is beneficial and very useful.

They are also incredible safety devices, with many offering light at any time.

This type of flashlight comes in handy in special or demanding situations, such as when your batteries die, because a hand

crank flashlight can take the energy of the user to power the flashlight or other

functions of the device.

How the Hand Crank Flashlight Started

Hand crank flashlights are not a new invention.

Michael Faraday discovered the concept upon which they operate during his research into electromagnetic induction in the 1820s.

Faraday found that by wrapping two insulated coils of wire around an iron ring

and applying an electric current to one of the coils a brief current passed through the

second coil.

Later he found that if he moved a magnet through a loop of wire an electric current

passed through the wire as well and that the current passed if the loop travelled over an

immobile magnet.

His work revealed that a dynamic magnetic field creates an electric field.

This knowledge helped build the first electric generator in 1832.

The Parts of the Hand Crank Flashlight

Two vital parts must exist in order for a hand crank to operate successfully, a static part to

provide a continuous magnetic field and a set of rotational windings able to rotate 360°

inside of the field.

On hand crank flashlights, a permanent magnet provides the constant magnetic field and a handle or even shaking the flashlight

creates the charge.

Without one of these two objects, in these circumstances, it is impossible to create the

necessary electric field to generate the power required to power the light bulb of the

flashlight.

Hand Crank Flashlight and the Environment

In our world today, it seems that everyone wants to be more environmentally friendly, find renewable energy sources, save money

and simplify his or her lives.

The hand crank flashlight seems to fit perfectly into our current desires during this modern time, but this technology is almost

two hundred years old.