Teen Invents Flashlight That Could Change The World

[zapta]

I think you WANT her gender and appearance to be a huge part of it,...

Actually I want the opposite.

If her appearance or gender played a part, why don't I see more of it?

You already see more that should be, this case for example.

Look at the first 10 stories here (filter out the noise) and will see how it's bias for female.

https://www.google.com/search?q=teenager+invented&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=WpIYU__VIcjfoAT0rILgDQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1296&bih=647

As I said, PC is often sexist and racist and we should not give it a pass.

[uwezi]

It's a hollow design that acts as a heatsink.

And exactly the hollow-ness of it makes me wonder. Unless you have an air flow through the axis of the cylinder you will not get any heat exchange from the inside walls to the surroundings. In a hollow cylinder, which is closed off at one side (by the LEDs) the air is stagnant and you cannot rely on convection and certainly not on thermal radiation inside this cavity.

[NiHaoMike]

It's a hollow design that acts as a heatsink.

And exactly the hollow-ness of it makes me wonder. Unless you have an air flow through the axis of the cylinder you will not get any heat exchange from the inside walls to the surroundings. In a hollow cylinder, which is closed off at one side (by the LEDs) the air is stagnant and you cannot rely on convection and certainly not on thermal radiation inside this cavity.

It's not a sealed design. The LEDs are near the outside and air can circulate through the center of the tube.

[uwezi]

It's a hollow design that acts as a heatsink.

And exactly the hollow-ness of it makes me wonder. Unless you have an air flow through the axis of the cylinder you will not get any heat exchange from the inside walls to the surroundings. In a hollow cylinder, which is closed off at one side (by the LEDs) the air is stagnant and you cannot rely on convection and certainly not on thermal radiation inside this cavity.

It's not a sealed design. The LEDs are near the outside and air can circulate through the center of the tube.

the air "can" circulate - but would it, if you just keep the flashlight in your hand?

Whether it is open or not - the LEDs are definitely a bottleneck for the air to pass by.

Again, I have not seen a detailed drawing - well according to the sources there is a patent pending - and therefore I can only make estimations. But essentially you would need to keep a temperature gradient of about 10-15 centigrade (outer body temperature to ambient air) over a couple of millimeters thickness.

I have a dynamo torch at home which works by squeezing a lever - also single handed operation. I have much more confidence in that design than in this Peltier-torch.

But nevertheless - please kids/adolescents everywhere in the world: continue to experiment with science and technology! (just don't expect the big media attention you might get if you were starting a band or perform in a reality show)