1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to text Stuff, a production of I Heart Radios 2 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:14,320 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with 4 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 1: iHeart Radio and I love all things tech. And today 5 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about lighters. And this is sort 6 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:28,480 Speaker 1: of a sequel to our last episode, which was about matches. 7 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:33,519 Speaker 1: Alimona is not in the studio and I'm happy to 8 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: report that nothing in my line of vision is currently 9 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: on fire. So we're going to pick up where we 10 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,519 Speaker 1: left off in that last episode. And in that episode, 11 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: I described an invention that used chemistry to create a flame, 12 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:53,160 Speaker 1: to ignite a flame. Now, this particular invention I talked 13 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: about in the last episode is a pretty dangerous contraption. 14 00:00:56,160 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: It used sulfuric acid, which by itself is dangerous can 15 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 1: seriously injure and disfigure you. But it was using sulfuric 16 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: acid and zinc in order to generate hydrogen gas, and 17 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:13,120 Speaker 1: hydrogen gas is also potentially really dangerous. Hydrogen gas is 18 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: lighter than air, but unlike helium, hydrogen is extremely flammable. 19 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: It's the stuff that contributed to the famous Hindenburg disaster. 20 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,040 Speaker 1: But now we're going to switch over to some other 21 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: technologies and developments that made the modern lighter possible. Because, 22 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: if you remember in that last episode, though the version 23 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: I just mentioned was not really practical, they sold a 24 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: few thousand of them, but it wasn't something that could 25 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,039 Speaker 1: easily be used, and it certainly wasn't something you could 26 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: carry around in your pocket. So our next advance in 27 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: the making of fire would date back to the beginning 28 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: of the twentieth century, so the early nineteen hundreds. That's 29 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: when an Austrian scientist named Baron carl Aur von Velba 30 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 1: was working with some mixtures of rare earth elements to 31 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: see what you know, they would do, so what scientists 32 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: do sometimes just trying stuff. Well, one of those elements 33 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:17,079 Speaker 1: he was working with was a metal called serrium c 34 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: E R I U M, and it's a relatively soft metal. 35 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: It's silvery white in color, but it does tarnish when 36 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: it's exposed to air, so it doesn't stay silvery white 37 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,360 Speaker 1: for very long. And it's soft enough then you can 38 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 1: actually cut this stuff with a knife, so it's a 39 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:40,679 Speaker 1: pretty soft metal. Velbot discovered that creating an alloy, which is, 40 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,960 Speaker 1: you know, a combination of different metals and other components. 41 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: But if you create an alloy using iron and cyrium, 42 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: it was actually mostly iron about seventy iron cirium that 43 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: you would create a substance that could ignite sparks if 44 00:02:56,440 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: it was struck or scratched by a harder material. And 45 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: he called this stuff pharaoh cyrium, and he classified it 46 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 1: as a mish battle, which is sort of a Germanic 47 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:12,080 Speaker 1: word that essentially means mixed metal or alloy. These days, 48 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: pharao cyrium and mish metal has a slightly different spelling. 49 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:20,240 Speaker 1: Typically are frequently used to describe the same thing. Also, 50 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:22,400 Speaker 1: a lot of folks will refer to this stuff as 51 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:27,120 Speaker 1: flint in modern lighters, but that is misleading. Flint is 52 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 1: something very different, and this merits a quick explanation so 53 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,799 Speaker 1: that you guys can understand and appreciate the difference between 54 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: flint and pharaoh cirium. Alright, so let's start off with quartz. 55 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: This stuff is the most abundant mineral found at Earth's surface, 56 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: so we humans have tons of experience with quartz. If 57 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: you take one part silicon to two parts oxygen, that's quartz. 58 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: And it's a durable mineral, and it has some really 59 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: super interesting properties. It's heat resistant, so it's a good 60 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: component to use in materials where you want to have 61 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:07,040 Speaker 1: something that can stand up to great amounts of heat. 62 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: It also has a really interesting quirky phenomena that's associated 63 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,480 Speaker 1: with it and some other materials. If you exert a 64 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: mechanical stress on quartz, in other words, if you hit it, 65 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: it then accumulates an electrical charge, or if you expose 66 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:30,560 Speaker 1: quarts to an electrical charge, it will exert an internal 67 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:34,679 Speaker 1: mechanical strain. It will vibrate. So you can make quartz 68 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 1: pulse at a consistent frequency by applying an electrical charge 69 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:42,919 Speaker 1: to it, which is why quartz crystals are used in 70 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: analog watches and clocks. The predictable, repeatable vibration that frequency 71 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: is always going to be the same is a great 72 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:54,840 Speaker 1: way to keep track of the passing of time, and 73 00:04:54,920 --> 00:05:00,120 Speaker 1: so you use that as sort of the uh, the 74 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:05,160 Speaker 1: foundation for all the other time keeping elements. But this 75 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:09,800 Speaker 1: is not an episode about clockwork. So we'll get back 76 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:11,840 Speaker 1: to piece of electric because it will play a part 77 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:15,039 Speaker 1: later on in our episode, but let's leave that off 78 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 1: for now. Now. More than that, quartz comes in many 79 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: different varieties and one of those varieties is flint. Flint 80 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: contains a lot of impurities, so it doesn't look like 81 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: pure quartz at all. It doesn't look like what we 82 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 1: think of when we think of the word quartz. Flint 83 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 1: tends to be dark gray in color, but it can 84 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: have other colors in it as well, like brown or red, 85 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: sometimes even whi er yellow, and typically is much closer 86 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:46,080 Speaker 1: to opaque than what we think of when we think 87 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: of quarts. We tend to think of something that's at 88 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 1: least translucent with quartz, but flint tends to be almost opaque. 89 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 1: And like courts in general, flint has no flat surfaces 90 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 1: of internal weakness, no Planer weakness inside court flint or cowards. 91 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: That means that you do not observe cleavage with quartz 92 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: or flint, which is, you know, actual geological kind of 93 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,599 Speaker 1: term here. So in other words, if you were to 94 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: strike this material hard enough to break it, you would 95 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:23,359 Speaker 1: see what's called a conchoidal fracture, that's a smoothly curving fracture. 96 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 1: Surface Glass is a type of material that has conchoidal 97 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:34,039 Speaker 1: fractures as opposed to Planer fractures or cleavage. By breaking 98 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:39,279 Speaker 1: quartz or flint in very precise ways. You can fashion tough, 99 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 1: sharp objects, stuff that can stand up to somewear and tear, 100 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:46,600 Speaker 1: and it can have a very sharp edge to it, 101 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 1: which is why flint was a valuable material in early 102 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 1: human history. It could be chipped to shape into stuff 103 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: like arrowheads spear points, as well as into cutting tools 104 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: like access is now getting back to making fires. The 105 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: property we're interested in with flint is that if you 106 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:11,800 Speaker 1: were to strike flint against iron, you can create sparks. 107 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 1: But why is that, Well, it's not because of the 108 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: flint necessarily, it's actually more because of the irons. The 109 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: iron is pyrophoric, which means it's a material that will 110 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: ignite under room temperature. And that probably sounds really weird, right. 111 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: I Mean, we've all come into contact with iron, We've 112 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 1: all seen iron objects, and most of the time I 113 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 1: think we could agree that's not you know, currently on fire. 114 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 1: So what actually gives here? What's happening and why do 115 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: I say that iron is pyrophoric. We'll see when iron 116 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: encounters air, it begins to oxidize, and with iron, that 117 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: means it develops a thin layer of iron oxide on 118 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: the outside surface of the iron itself. Iron oxide is 119 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: known by another name rust. So the rusting process is 120 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:10,440 Speaker 1: a chemical reaction, and it's an exothermic chemical reaction, if 121 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: you remember from our last episode. An exothermic reaction is 122 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: one that in the process of this chemical reaction going on, 123 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: releases heat. But if you're talking about any appreciable amount 124 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: of iron, as in more than just a tiny speck 125 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 1: of the stuff, that heat dissipates pretty quickly. The relative 126 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:33,400 Speaker 1: mass of the iron is great enough that the heat 127 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:36,880 Speaker 1: becomes a non factor. And this is really important. We 128 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: have to consider the ratio of a any given amount 129 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:45,600 Speaker 1: of irons mass relative to the surface area that is 130 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 1: exposed to the air. If the iron has more than 131 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 1: a little mass, that heat can dissipate through the rest 132 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:53,840 Speaker 1: of the hunk of iron. You know, all the iron 133 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: atoms that are not exposed to air will just sort 134 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: of absorb that heat and nothing else happens apart from 135 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: the external surfaces rusting. And once they rust, they've got 136 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 1: this sort of protective layer, and thus the rest of 137 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:11,720 Speaker 1: the iron atoms aren't exposed to oxygen anymore. Rusting really 138 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 1: is just a similar process to burning. That burning is 139 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:18,160 Speaker 1: also a chemical reaction. In which material oxidizes. It is 140 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:21,600 Speaker 1: just that burning happens a lot faster and with you know, 141 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 1: flames and stuff. When you strike iron with a flint, 142 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 1: the flint is actually hard enough and typically sharp enough 143 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: to cause very tiny shards of iron to shear off 144 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:39,680 Speaker 1: of whatever it is you're striking. While any part of 145 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:43,559 Speaker 1: those tiny pieces that were previously exposed to oxygen still 146 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:47,200 Speaker 1: have an iron oxide coating, the rest of those small 147 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: pieces haven't been touched by oxygen at all, So these 148 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,360 Speaker 1: are pure iron with no iron oxide arm and as 149 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:58,439 Speaker 1: soon as that surface makes contact with oxygen, the oxidizing 150 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:03,320 Speaker 1: process begins immediately. So now we're talking about iron in 151 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:07,959 Speaker 1: which the ratio of surface area of exposed iron compared 152 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: to the mass of that iron has been flipped. It's 153 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,800 Speaker 1: very little mass, and much of it is exposed to oxygen. 154 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 1: The mass of the shards is so low that it 155 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 1: cannot dissipate that heat, So the exposed surface oxidizes at 156 00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:26,679 Speaker 1: a rate faster than heat can dissipate. So since the 157 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:31,040 Speaker 1: heat can't dissipate, it builds up. It builds up super 158 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,320 Speaker 1: super fast, and those tiny shards of iron get hot, 159 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: hot enough to glow and to reach the ignition temperature 160 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 1: of some other fuel source, like the tinder of a 161 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: camp fire. That all happens in the blink of an eye, 162 00:10:44,679 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 1: and that is a spark. The spark you see are 163 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:51,280 Speaker 1: these tiny pieces of iron that are oxidizing and they're 164 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 1: generating so much heat that they cannot dissipate that the 165 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 1: metal itself begins to glow from that heat. So when 166 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 1: you strike iron against flint, you're creating tiny flying shards 167 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:08,840 Speaker 1: of white hot iron particles, and that's why you're able 168 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:12,360 Speaker 1: to use those to light a camp fire. For example. 169 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:17,319 Speaker 1: Flint was also used in early firearms. Flint would be 170 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:20,320 Speaker 1: in the striking arm of a gun like a flint 171 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:24,319 Speaker 1: lock rifle or a flint lock pistol, and so you 172 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:29,200 Speaker 1: would have this little hammer that would have flint attached 173 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 1: to it, and you would have a little cup, essentially 174 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,720 Speaker 1: a little receptacle cup, and the when you pull the trigger, 175 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,560 Speaker 1: the hammer would come down and strike inside the cup. 176 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: It would hit another surface that would be made out 177 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:46,439 Speaker 1: of pyrite, which is a mix of iron and silicon. 178 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 1: The collision would create sparks, which ignites a small amount 179 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 1: of gunpowder. It leads into the chamber of the firearm 180 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:57,000 Speaker 1: ignites a larger amount of gunpowder, which causes an explosion 181 00:11:57,160 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: and then propels a projectile out of the weapon. So 182 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,800 Speaker 1: that's where you get your flintlock pistols and your flintlock rifles. Now, 183 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:08,280 Speaker 1: technically you don't absolutely have to use flint. If you 184 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: want to use iron to generate sparks. You really just 185 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: need something that's hard enough and sharp enough to shear 186 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 1: off those tiny particles of iron. That's the secret. It's 187 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: not the flint, it's really the iron. Flint happens to 188 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 1: have that kind of hardness to it naturally, and there's 189 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:28,720 Speaker 1: a whole lot of flint that's available readily out in 190 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 1: the world. It's close to the surface of the planet, 191 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:34,320 Speaker 1: so it's easy to find, so it's a very common 192 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:38,760 Speaker 1: pairing with iron or steel. Also, remember steel itself is 193 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:42,320 Speaker 1: an alloy of iron and carbon and sometimes some other 194 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 1: stuff too, and carbon steel is mostly iron like iron, 195 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:51,920 Speaker 1: and tends to be fairly brittle as far as steel goes, 196 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,920 Speaker 1: so it's frequently used in flint and steel kits. In fact, 197 00:12:56,400 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 1: steel is typically better than playin old iron is because 198 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 1: as iron has a tendency to bend rather than break 199 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:06,520 Speaker 1: when it's struck by a harder surface, So you want 200 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 1: something that's a little more brittle that will shear off 201 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:12,440 Speaker 1: a bit. Because bending doesn't produce sparks, It just you know, 202 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 1: dentse it. Adding carbon makes iron less bindy. So in general, 203 00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:19,600 Speaker 1: the harder the steel and the sharper the flint, the 204 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 1: better sparks you're gonna get when you strike the two 205 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:25,640 Speaker 1: of them together. Also, if you've ever seen anyone use 206 00:13:25,679 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 1: a machine like a grinder to shape iron or steel, 207 00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:33,400 Speaker 1: you've likely seen showers of sparks that come down as 208 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:36,160 Speaker 1: a result. Those sparks come from the same process I 209 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:40,280 Speaker 1: just described. Tiny fragments of pure iron are glowing white 210 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:44,480 Speaker 1: hot as they oxidize upon exposure to the air. All right, 211 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:47,880 Speaker 1: but what about pharaoh cyrium. I mentioned that earlier. Well 212 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:52,280 Speaker 1: for starters, pharaoh Cyrium is not a mineral like flint is. 213 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:54,679 Speaker 1: And to be fair, some people don't refer to flint 214 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:57,000 Speaker 1: as a mineral, they just call it a rock. But 215 00:13:57,040 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 1: pharaoh cirium isn't a mineral or a rock. It's an alloy. 216 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:04,040 Speaker 1: It's made up of two metals, and the combination of 217 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:07,200 Speaker 1: iron and syrium turned out to be really useful. You've 218 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:10,920 Speaker 1: got iron, which will oxidize rapidly when exposed to air, 219 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,079 Speaker 1: and you've got cirium, which has a low ignition temperature, 220 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:17,600 Speaker 1: so that oxidizing process will ignite the serrium and make 221 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: the sparks more practical, makes it more likely that you're 222 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: able to use them to do something like light of fire. 223 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:29,360 Speaker 1: And after he first developed pharaoh cirium, Welsbach would tweak 224 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,800 Speaker 1: this alloy to try and fine tune it to make 225 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 1: it more effective as sort of a spark making fire 226 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:40,520 Speaker 1: starting material. He discovered that adding another soft metal called 227 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: lanthanum in very small amounts meant that Pharao cirium would 228 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:49,320 Speaker 1: create brighter sparks and thus be even more effective as 229 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: a way of starting fires. Now, in most lighters, the 230 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 1: quote unquote flint in the lighter is actually a piece 231 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: of pharaoh cirium. It's not flint, it's pharaoh cirium. And 232 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:04,000 Speaker 1: then most lighters use some sort of wheel made out 233 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,320 Speaker 1: of a harder material like steel that's a striker. So 234 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 1: turning the steel wheel causes the wheel to rub or 235 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:17,240 Speaker 1: strike against the pharaoh cyrium quote unquote flint quickly, and 236 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 1: that throws off sparks. There's usually some other piece of 237 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:25,360 Speaker 1: the lighter that holds the pharaoh cirium to a positive 238 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: pressure against the wheel so that it remains in contact 239 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 1: with the wheel even as you start to wear down 240 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:34,640 Speaker 1: the pharaoh cirium. So there's usually some sort of spring 241 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: or something that exerts pressure on that pharaoh cirium to 242 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 1: make sure it remains in contact with the wheel, because 243 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:44,000 Speaker 1: if the pharaoh cirium loses contact with the wheel, the 244 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,880 Speaker 1: wheel will just spend freely. You won't get any sparks 245 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 1: at all because the material that gives off the sparks 246 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:54,040 Speaker 1: isn't in contact with the striking surface anymore. Bells box 247 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 1: discovery created an alternative to relying on chemistry to generate 248 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 1: a flame. The arc would do it if only you 249 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:05,320 Speaker 1: have a supply of fuel. So one of the early 250 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:08,120 Speaker 1: inventions to use pharaoh sirium as a way to start 251 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:11,760 Speaker 1: fires was called the Pisto lighter. I actually have an 252 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:14,680 Speaker 1: outtake where I said pistoleter because it's spelled like leader, 253 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:18,120 Speaker 1: but lighter. It's a lighter. Uh is from a company 254 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:22,120 Speaker 1: called Ronson, and it was called the Pisto lighter because 255 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:24,320 Speaker 1: it had sort of a pistol grip. In fact, it 256 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: looked kind of like a little handgun, a little pistol, 257 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 1: but instead of shooting bullets, this thing shoots sparks. Ronson 258 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: would actually play an important part in the early history 259 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:36,520 Speaker 1: of lighters, so it makes sense to talk about them 260 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:39,840 Speaker 1: for just a minute. The company was founded just before 261 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 1: the turn of the twentieth century by Louis Vincent Ironson 262 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: or Ronson, h Leopold Hertzig and Max Hecked, though at 263 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: the time the company they called they formed was called 264 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:57,800 Speaker 1: the Art Metal Works, and the company mainly made stuff 265 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 1: out of iron, ranging from lamps to decorative items. But 266 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,560 Speaker 1: Aaronson was a bit of a chemist and an engineer, 267 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:06,840 Speaker 1: and he kept liking to, you know, to to to 268 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:10,200 Speaker 1: fiddle and and mess with stuff and try and figure 269 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 1: out different ways of accomplishing things. He worked on creating 270 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:18,399 Speaker 1: better matches before he started making you know, lighters, and 271 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 1: UH we talked about some of those attempts in the 272 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:24,080 Speaker 1: last episode, not about his work in particular, but the 273 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:27,560 Speaker 1: attempt to move away from things like white phosphorus as 274 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:33,400 Speaker 1: your active component in a match. While n the company, 275 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 1: UH introduced the pistol lighter, and inside this lighter was 276 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:42,440 Speaker 1: a length of pharaoh syrium um like a surface of 277 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:45,800 Speaker 1: pharao syrium inside what would be the barrel of this pistol, 278 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:48,760 Speaker 1: and then also inside of it was a spring loaded 279 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:53,399 Speaker 1: file of harder material, and so you could pull back 280 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:57,800 Speaker 1: on this and it would have the spring compress and 281 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 1: a little catch would be put in place to hold 282 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:03,600 Speaker 1: the spring there, and the file would be in its 283 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:07,640 Speaker 1: h back position. You'd pull a trigger that would release 284 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 1: the spring, and the spring would thus expand and would 285 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:14,919 Speaker 1: push the file against the pharaoh serrium inside the barrel 286 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,480 Speaker 1: of this pistol lighter, and sparks would fly out the end. 287 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 1: As a result. The pistol lighter didn't create a sustained 288 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:24,760 Speaker 1: flame like a modern lighter. It was more of a 289 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:27,680 Speaker 1: spark stick type of thing. So the idea was you 290 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:32,159 Speaker 1: would aim this at, say the tinder for a camp fire, 291 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 1: or maybe a motor engine. At the time, there were 292 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: cars that and and motors that required you to have 293 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:43,920 Speaker 1: uh an actual external ignition source to to make them work. 294 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 1: Scary times, but if all went well, when you pull 295 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:51,159 Speaker 1: the trigger, the sparks from the pistol lighter would ignite 296 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: whatever it was you were aiming. At and you would 297 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 1: have your camp fire started, or your motor would begin 298 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:00,159 Speaker 1: if it didn't work on the first past, and you 299 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:03,639 Speaker 1: could pull the file back to the starting position, compressing 300 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,480 Speaker 1: the spring, activating the catch, and you'd be ready for 301 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 1: a second go of it. To create a sustained flame, 302 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:13,400 Speaker 1: a lighter would need an additional component, one of the 303 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:17,840 Speaker 1: three components that make up the fire triangle, and that 304 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:20,960 Speaker 1: would be fuel. I'll explain more in just a moment, 305 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: but first let's take a quick break. All right, we're 306 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:35,320 Speaker 1: back now. There are three main components that I want 307 00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:39,720 Speaker 1: to focus on with the early lighters that could create 308 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:45,000 Speaker 1: a sustained flame. One is the piece of faro syrium, which, 309 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:48,360 Speaker 1: as I just mentioned, frequently gets referred to as the flint, 310 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:51,440 Speaker 1: even though flint and pharao sirium are very different things, 311 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:55,560 Speaker 1: and technically it's again not flint. In flint and steel 312 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:59,040 Speaker 1: that gives off the sparks when you're striking them together, 313 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:02,040 Speaker 1: it's really the steel, not the flint. If you slam 314 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:04,800 Speaker 1: two pieces of flint together, you can sometimes get sparks 315 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,280 Speaker 1: because sometimes you have trace other elements in there that 316 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:11,120 Speaker 1: will create them. But the second component is the striker, 317 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:13,960 Speaker 1: which in many lighters is a wheel that has a 318 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:18,600 Speaker 1: ribbed outer edge and that is pressed against the pharao serium, 319 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:21,159 Speaker 1: or rather I should say the pharaoh cerium is pressed 320 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:24,679 Speaker 1: against the wheel. And so typically you would put like 321 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,480 Speaker 1: your thumb on the wheel, for example, and and you 322 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:31,080 Speaker 1: would spin it the wheel pretty quickly by bringing your 323 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,800 Speaker 1: thumb down, and that would end up striking against the 324 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:38,399 Speaker 1: pharao serrium and then you get a spark. The third 325 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,000 Speaker 1: component is a wick, as in a wick like like 326 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,560 Speaker 1: what you would find in a candle, and the purpose 327 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,760 Speaker 1: of the wick is to transfer small amounts of some 328 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:51,640 Speaker 1: sort of fuel such as uh nuff the from a 329 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: fuel container section of the lighter to the area where 330 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,679 Speaker 1: the wheel and the pharaoh cerium are generating sparks. And 331 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:00,200 Speaker 1: clearly you want that to be a separate area from 332 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,760 Speaker 1: the main source of fuel. Otherwise you're being igniting all 333 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:06,960 Speaker 1: the fuel in one go, and that would be wasteful 334 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,960 Speaker 1: and probably pretty darned dangerous. So the wick is sort 335 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:12,919 Speaker 1: of like a fuel highway. It's very similar to the 336 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:16,080 Speaker 1: way wick works with a candle. So let's talk about 337 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:19,800 Speaker 1: the physics involved in that for a second, because candles 338 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 1: are something I never really thought about in the sense 339 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:25,840 Speaker 1: of how do those work? I mean, why would you 340 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:29,879 Speaker 1: even bother encasing a wick in wax? Why not just 341 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,720 Speaker 1: burn the wick material? What the heck is going on here? 342 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:36,160 Speaker 1: All right? So, when you light a candle, you light 343 00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: the end of the exposed wick, and that part is 344 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 1: easy to understand, right. It starts to burn, So the 345 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: wick itself is starting to burn, and the heat from 346 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:49,800 Speaker 1: that burning wick melts wax at that end of the candle. 347 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,240 Speaker 1: At the top of the candle, the wick starts to 348 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:57,320 Speaker 1: absorb that liquid wax, so it wicks away the wax 349 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:02,399 Speaker 1: into the wick itself. The lick it wax. If you 350 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,120 Speaker 1: were to try and light it on fire, it would 351 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:07,120 Speaker 1: only burn if you were using really high temperatures, far 352 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:10,639 Speaker 1: hotter than what a burning wick would be able to create. 353 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:14,520 Speaker 1: The liquid wax in the wick continues to heat up 354 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,960 Speaker 1: and it starts to vaporize. And while liquid wax only 355 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 1: burns its super high temperatures, wax vapor is different. It's 356 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 1: flammable at the right temperature of of a candle. So 357 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:29,720 Speaker 1: the vaporizing wax is what you're actually seeing burn when 358 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:32,359 Speaker 1: a candle is burning, and the vaporizing wax also has 359 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:36,760 Speaker 1: the effect of cooling the wick underneath. As it vaporizes, 360 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: it's carrying heat away, so the wick doesn't just burn away. 361 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:44,679 Speaker 1: That's why the wick can remain serviceable even as the 362 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:48,199 Speaker 1: candle continues to burn. It doesn't just burn up and 363 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 1: become useless. So the wick remains a conduit for the 364 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 1: liquid wax. So if you just set fire to a wick, 365 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:57,240 Speaker 1: if it didn't have any candle around it, it would 366 00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,159 Speaker 1: just burn up pretty quickly and then you'd be in 367 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:02,240 Speaker 1: the dark again. But a candle isn't burning up the 368 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:06,879 Speaker 1: wick as its primary fuel. It's burning up the wax, right, 369 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 1: So a lighter wick serves the same purpose as a 370 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:15,640 Speaker 1: candle wick, which is again to convey fuel through absorption 371 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:18,960 Speaker 1: or wicking from the fuel container to the combustion area. 372 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:22,960 Speaker 1: The fuel for early lighters was, as I said, neftha 373 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:26,640 Speaker 1: or nf thea uh. That's a term that originates from 374 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:31,560 Speaker 1: the Middle East, particularly around Azerbaijan and Iran, and it 375 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:35,600 Speaker 1: was used to describe a particularly volatile type of petroleum 376 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 1: found in those regions, But then it would get applied 377 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:42,919 Speaker 1: to all sorts of different stuff after that, Like it 378 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,960 Speaker 1: was described as early as the first century by smarty 379 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:50,600 Speaker 1: pants eggheads like Pliny the Elder, but later folks would 380 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,320 Speaker 1: use that term to refer to all sorts of different stuff, 381 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,560 Speaker 1: and it confused the matter, like alchemists and scholars in 382 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: the Middle Ages would use it to describe pretty much 383 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:02,200 Speaker 1: any liquid with a low boiling point. For our purposes, 384 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:07,400 Speaker 1: we're talking about a hydrocarbon fuel. In nineteen twelve, the 385 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:11,840 Speaker 1: Ronson Company introduced the Wonder light, and unlike the pistol light, 386 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:17,040 Speaker 1: this lighter actually contained fuel and used a wick so 387 00:24:17,119 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 1: that the sparks would ignite the fuel that was in 388 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:24,080 Speaker 1: the wig and create a sort of permanent match. That's 389 00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 1: what they called it. Now, it was much easier to 390 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,760 Speaker 1: light stuff like lamps and candles that way. You weren't 391 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:32,879 Speaker 1: just shooting sparks. You had a sustained flame and you 392 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:35,639 Speaker 1: could use that to light other stuff. And there may 393 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:39,000 Speaker 1: well have been other lighters in a similar vein of 394 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:42,200 Speaker 1: this type uh that might have even been invented before 395 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:44,480 Speaker 1: the wonder Light. But as it turns out, this is 396 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:46,639 Speaker 1: one of those topics where it's really hard to find 397 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:50,000 Speaker 1: a definitive history on the subject, and it's also difficult 398 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,520 Speaker 1: to trace back who created the very first version of 399 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:58,760 Speaker 1: whatever particular incarnation you're looking at. But in ninety six 400 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:03,200 Speaker 1: Ronson introduced a super cool lighter, a pocket lighter called 401 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 1: the Banjo. This lighter had a button essentially a lever. 402 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,440 Speaker 1: So imagine a little lighter where you've got a lever 403 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 1: and you push down on the lever, and when you 404 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:14,920 Speaker 1: do that, it has sort of a double action result. 405 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 1: One is that this pushing down would also turn a 406 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:22,080 Speaker 1: striking wheel that would rub up against some pharaoh cyrium 407 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 1: and thus create a spark. So pushing down on the 408 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:27,800 Speaker 1: lever you get a spark out of it. But the 409 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:31,560 Speaker 1: other effect was that it lifted a cap off of 410 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:35,080 Speaker 1: the wick for this lighter. So when the lever is 411 00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:38,240 Speaker 1: in the up position, you know, unpressed, the cap is down. 412 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:42,640 Speaker 1: Pushing down on the lever creates the spark and reveals 413 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,120 Speaker 1: the wick, and the same go so the spark can 414 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:48,000 Speaker 1: hit the wick that's got fuel on it, and then 415 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:51,119 Speaker 1: the wick can light. Letting go of the button, as 416 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:53,119 Speaker 1: long as you hold the button, the light is the 417 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:56,400 Speaker 1: light still remains, the flame is still lit. But leting 418 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:58,760 Speaker 1: go to the button means the cap comes down and 419 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:02,320 Speaker 1: it extinguishes the fire because it cuts off the supply 420 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:05,359 Speaker 1: of oxygen, which is again one of the three things 421 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:08,760 Speaker 1: we need in order to sustain a fire. You need 422 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,320 Speaker 1: the fuel, you need the heat, and you need an oxidizer. 423 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:14,280 Speaker 1: So you remove the oxidizer, the flame goes out. This 424 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:18,000 Speaker 1: made the Banjo the first automatic pocket lighter in the world. 425 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:23,400 Speaker 1: In the company would release a tabletop version of the banjo, 426 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:25,800 Speaker 1: so this was one that you would not carry around 427 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:29,399 Speaker 1: with you in your pocket. Uh. It would be a 428 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,400 Speaker 1: piece on a desk or a table that you would 429 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,800 Speaker 1: use to light various things, typically cigarettes. I don't like 430 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:39,960 Speaker 1: talking about that because I don't like cigarettes, but that 431 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:44,040 Speaker 1: was the typical application of the time. As for fuel, well, 432 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,200 Speaker 1: I found a manual on how to care and refuel 433 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,639 Speaker 1: a Banjo lighter, and boy howdy did it raise my 434 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 1: eyebrows because according to the manual, you could use quote 435 00:26:54,840 --> 00:27:02,439 Speaker 1: high grade gasoline benzene or energen as fuel. Gasoline. That 436 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:06,439 Speaker 1: lighter must have smelled terrible, so to refuel. Uh. It 437 00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:09,520 Speaker 1: had two screw caps on this lighter, a big one 438 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:11,720 Speaker 1: and a small one, so you would want to unscrew 439 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:15,040 Speaker 1: the larger of the two screw caps and that would 440 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:20,480 Speaker 1: open up a access to the fuel chamber, and presumably 441 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 1: you would then use a funnel and you would very 442 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:26,639 Speaker 1: carefully refuel the lighter or else risks spilling something like 443 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,120 Speaker 1: gasoline all over it and turning it into a very 444 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:33,680 Speaker 1: dangerous one use item. The other screw cap, the smaller one, 445 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:36,880 Speaker 1: was for the chamber that held the piece of pharaoh 446 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:40,920 Speaker 1: syrium in place, so that the strike wheel would maintain 447 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:44,280 Speaker 1: contact with the pharaoh cyrium. And so imagine that you've 448 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:46,879 Speaker 1: got this little piece of this material that when it's struck, 449 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:50,959 Speaker 1: it gives us sparks, and it's being held against this 450 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 1: wheel through the use of a spring that's slightly compressed. 451 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: Uh So the screw cap opened up the chamber where 452 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:03,359 Speaker 1: the spring was. So if your Pharao syrium ran out, 453 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:05,199 Speaker 1: you know, you're spinning the wheel and no sparks are 454 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:07,919 Speaker 1: coming out, probably means that there's no more far as syrium, 455 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:10,720 Speaker 1: or that it's been worn down so far that's no 456 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:13,600 Speaker 1: longer making contact with the wheel. You would unscrew the 457 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:16,560 Speaker 1: screw cap, you take the spring out, you would take 458 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:19,439 Speaker 1: out whatever little remnants of the Pharao serrium you had 459 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:22,760 Speaker 1: in there. You put a new piece into that chamber. 460 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,200 Speaker 1: The new piece of Pharao syrium. You would put the 461 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 1: spring back into the chamber and you would have to 462 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:31,159 Speaker 1: compress it down a little bit as you screwed the 463 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:34,119 Speaker 1: screw cap back in place, and it would again hold 464 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:37,719 Speaker 1: the new piece of Farris serrium against that striking wheel, 465 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:41,800 Speaker 1: so that you would have the sparking material right there 466 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:43,680 Speaker 1: ready to go for the next time you need to 467 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:46,360 Speaker 1: use the lighter. So you can actually use these things 468 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:51,560 Speaker 1: indefinitely as long as the other components held out. The 469 00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:55,880 Speaker 1: banjo sold for five dollars according to most sources I 470 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:58,920 Speaker 1: came across. Now, you know me, I had to find 471 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:01,920 Speaker 1: out how much would be if we were to purchase 472 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:04,840 Speaker 1: it today, right, because this was five dollars back in 473 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty six. So according to inflation calculators, five dollars 474 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,160 Speaker 1: back in nineteen twenty six would be about the same 475 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:17,680 Speaker 1: amount as seventy two dollars today if we we factor 476 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:20,360 Speaker 1: in inflation, So this would be a lighter that would 477 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:24,240 Speaker 1: cost seventy two bucks. That's a pretty expensive lighter. But 478 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:27,040 Speaker 1: I guess if you're thinking that this could potentially replace 479 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:31,440 Speaker 1: the need for matches for like ever, maybe that could 480 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:34,040 Speaker 1: be a deal. If you're going through matches like crazy. 481 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:37,800 Speaker 1: These days, the original Ronson banjo lighters, if you can 482 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 1: find them in good condition, can sell for a couple 483 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,200 Speaker 1: of hundred to several hundred dollars. They are sought after 484 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:48,920 Speaker 1: by collectors uh. Since nineteen twenty eight or so, the 485 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 1: only Ronson banjo lighters that have been made have been 486 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:56,160 Speaker 1: replicas out of Japan, so those obviously are not as valuable. 487 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,480 Speaker 1: It's only the ones between nineteen six and nineteen twenty 488 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:02,680 Speaker 1: eight that were originally made by Ronson that will fetch 489 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:07,480 Speaker 1: those higher prices. Lighters like the banjo have lids so 490 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:10,960 Speaker 1: that the fuel doesn't just gradually evaporate away. If you 491 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:15,560 Speaker 1: kept that wick exposed to air, then fuel would start 492 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:18,680 Speaker 1: to evaporate over time, and you would continue to see 493 00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:21,680 Speaker 1: it wick away from the fuel chamber and then and 494 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:25,720 Speaker 1: evaporate into the atmosphere. So you would end up running 495 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:27,680 Speaker 1: out a fuel much faster, So you want to have 496 00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:31,440 Speaker 1: some sort of cap that keeps that from happening. Another 497 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:35,680 Speaker 1: brand would make this style of lighter incredibly famous, particularly 498 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:41,760 Speaker 1: in America. That brand was Zippo, and Zippo's founder was 499 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:45,680 Speaker 1: a guy named George G. Blaisdell, and the story goes 500 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: that in the early nineteen thirties, Blaisdell saw a guy 501 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:53,760 Speaker 1: at the Bradford Country Club where Blaisdell was hanging out 502 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:57,560 Speaker 1: uh in Pennsylvania struggled to light a cigarette from an 503 00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:02,160 Speaker 1: Austrian built lighter. But the lighter was kind of unwieldy 504 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:05,240 Speaker 1: and it looked like it required two hands to operate. 505 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:08,440 Speaker 1: It was made out of very thin metal, so that 506 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:11,920 Speaker 1: thin metal was actually soft enough where if you were 507 00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:15,120 Speaker 1: gripping it too tightly, you could dent the lighter just 508 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:18,040 Speaker 1: through trying to use it. So Blaisdel saw the opportunity 509 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:21,240 Speaker 1: to improve upon that design and create a pocket lighter 510 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:23,920 Speaker 1: for the United States because he also saw that people 511 00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:29,600 Speaker 1: really like cigarettes and they were going through matches like crazy, 512 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,280 Speaker 1: So if you could market something like that, you could 513 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:36,600 Speaker 1: really make some money. So Blaisdell then goes and purchases 514 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:40,280 Speaker 1: the United States production and distribution rights for that Austrian 515 00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:45,320 Speaker 1: lighter manufacturer, so now Blasdel has the rights to make 516 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:50,680 Speaker 1: and sell those style lighters in the US. However, it 517 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:53,240 Speaker 1: didn't go over so well. He gave them a chrome 518 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:55,560 Speaker 1: plating to kind of make them more attractive and a 519 00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:58,240 Speaker 1: little more durable. And he tried to sell them, but 520 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:01,440 Speaker 1: the lighters just didn't work very well, so he ultimately 521 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:04,560 Speaker 1: decided to scrap that approach entirely and to make his 522 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:07,479 Speaker 1: own lighters. So he rented out a small work space 523 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:11,120 Speaker 1: and he hired three people and they collectively tried to 524 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:13,960 Speaker 1: build a prototype for a new type of lighter. Blaizel 525 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:18,520 Speaker 1: sunk nearly three bucks Princely some in nineteen two to 526 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:22,719 Speaker 1: purchase used equipment machining equipment in order to design and 527 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:26,080 Speaker 1: build this lighter. Together, they built a lighter that had 528 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:29,600 Speaker 1: a hinged top. If you open the top, it would 529 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:32,880 Speaker 1: expose the striking wheel and the wick to the to 530 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:36,479 Speaker 1: the air uh and the wick itself was housed inside 531 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:39,640 Speaker 1: a chimney like chamber to protect it from the wind, 532 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:42,440 Speaker 1: so you could use the lighter even if you were 533 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,200 Speaker 1: out in on a windy day. You can also open 534 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:47,680 Speaker 1: the lighter with one hand. You could flick it open. 535 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:50,480 Speaker 1: All it took was the spin of the wheel to 536 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:54,760 Speaker 1: strike against the ferres sinium flint to cause a spark 537 00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:57,880 Speaker 1: that would ignite the fuel on the wick in the chimney, 538 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:01,040 Speaker 1: and you get a nice bright flame. So if you practiced, 539 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:03,560 Speaker 1: you can flip open the lighter with one hand. You 540 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:05,640 Speaker 1: can roll the wheel with your thumb, or if you're 541 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,840 Speaker 1: trying to be you know, like serious cool person, you 542 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:12,640 Speaker 1: flipped open and then you strike that wheel against your 543 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:14,840 Speaker 1: hip or your thigh or something, and you light it 544 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:18,440 Speaker 1: and then you do your cool you know, I meant 545 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:21,800 Speaker 1: to do that kind of face. I can't. I can't 546 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:25,000 Speaker 1: do that face because I if I meant to do it, 547 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,800 Speaker 1: it didn't happen, And if it happened, I'm just as 548 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:31,240 Speaker 1: surprised as you are. Anyway, the flame would stay active 549 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:34,800 Speaker 1: with the Zippo lighters until either all the fuel was 550 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:38,080 Speaker 1: gone or you flipped close the lid in order to 551 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:40,440 Speaker 1: cut off oxygen to the flame, so you didn't have 552 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,240 Speaker 1: to do anything to keep it lit. You know, you 553 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:46,600 Speaker 1: you roll the striking wheel as soon as those sparks 554 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:50,280 Speaker 1: ignite the fuel on the wick, it was gonna stay 555 00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:55,320 Speaker 1: lit until you either closed it or you ran out 556 00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,000 Speaker 1: of fuel or something else happened, like maybe I don't know, 557 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:01,080 Speaker 1: you dunked it in water or something. Blaze don't liked 558 00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:04,160 Speaker 1: the sound of the word zipper. He felt that just 559 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,760 Speaker 1: had a really good zing to it, so he decided 560 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:10,040 Speaker 1: to take a kind of a variant on that. Then 561 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:13,920 Speaker 1: he named the lighter the Zippo. The original price for 562 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:19,680 Speaker 1: a windproof zippo was a dollar n two, which means 563 00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:23,319 Speaker 1: that today it would cost you about thirty six dollars. Now, 564 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:25,040 Speaker 1: if you wanted to go out and buy a brand 565 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:29,880 Speaker 1: new zippo today, prices start somewhere around twenty bucks and 566 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:32,480 Speaker 1: they go up from there, reaching more than a hundred dollars. 567 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:36,560 Speaker 1: For certain limited edition zippos, they're known not only for 568 00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:40,440 Speaker 1: their iconic hinged top and the fact that they'll stay 569 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:43,120 Speaker 1: lit once you light them, but also for the types 570 00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:45,719 Speaker 1: of artwork that are featured on them. I think my 571 00:34:45,719 --> 00:34:50,360 Speaker 1: own personal favorite is one that is the brass Necronomicon lighter. 572 00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:53,200 Speaker 1: But then I'm also the guy who wrote how Cathulu 573 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:56,400 Speaker 1: works as well as how the Necronomicon works for how 574 00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:59,160 Speaker 1: stuff works dot Com. By the way, I don't own 575 00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:02,040 Speaker 1: a zip bow, but if I did, that's probably the 576 00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:04,040 Speaker 1: one I would go for. Now. If you were to 577 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:08,040 Speaker 1: open up a modern Zippo lighter with the traditional fuel, 578 00:35:08,239 --> 00:35:10,840 Speaker 1: so for example, let's say that you need to replace 579 00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:13,640 Speaker 1: the wick or you need to refuel the zippo, here's 580 00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:16,920 Speaker 1: how that that would go you would open up the case, 581 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:19,520 Speaker 1: and the Zippo case is just that, it's a case. 582 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:23,560 Speaker 1: It's it's not the lighter itself. The lighter is inside 583 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:26,160 Speaker 1: the case, and you can actually pull the lighter out 584 00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:29,160 Speaker 1: lifting it out of the case. You turn the lighter 585 00:35:29,239 --> 00:35:32,000 Speaker 1: upside down and on the underside you're gonna see a 586 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:37,680 Speaker 1: felt pad being held in place by a screw that's 587 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:41,080 Speaker 1: actually in an inside of a tube. That tube holds 588 00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:46,800 Speaker 1: the pharaoh cirium uh or or flint screw. It's a 589 00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:50,480 Speaker 1: piece that has the pharaoh cyrium at the very end 590 00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:53,319 Speaker 1: of it. UH. If you're just refueling, you don't even 591 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:56,920 Speaker 1: need to touch that screw cap. You just move the 592 00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,799 Speaker 1: felt pad out of the way like you bend it 593 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:02,920 Speaker 1: out the way, and then you would see some packing 594 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:08,600 Speaker 1: material inside the lighter. It kind of looks like cotton wadding, 595 00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:13,040 Speaker 1: but it's this very specific type of packing material. So 596 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:15,680 Speaker 1: you would then take some lighter fluid Zippo as its 597 00:36:15,719 --> 00:36:19,080 Speaker 1: own specific brand it would prefer you to use, and 598 00:36:19,239 --> 00:36:23,120 Speaker 1: you would saturate that packing material. You would squirt the 599 00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:27,480 Speaker 1: lighter fluid into the packing material itself. Once it was saturated, 600 00:36:27,840 --> 00:36:30,279 Speaker 1: you would move the felt pad back into place to 601 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:33,560 Speaker 1: cover it up, and you would probably want to give 602 00:36:33,719 --> 00:36:35,960 Speaker 1: the lighter a pass or two with a clean cloth 603 00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:38,719 Speaker 1: to remove any excess fuel that might have spilled on 604 00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:40,840 Speaker 1: the outside of it. Then you would replace the lighter 605 00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:43,120 Speaker 1: inside the case. You want to also give the case 606 00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:45,839 Speaker 1: a pass or two with a clean cloth, then wait 607 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:48,919 Speaker 1: a little bit to allow the lighter fluid to heat 608 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,200 Speaker 1: up to room temperature, and then you could use the 609 00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:54,279 Speaker 1: lighter again and it would be totally refueled. While the 610 00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:56,520 Speaker 1: purpose of a wick is to hold fuel and the 611 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:59,640 Speaker 1: wick itself isn't really meant to burn up, over time, 612 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:03,719 Speaker 1: carbon deposits on the wick will make the wick less effective. 613 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:07,239 Speaker 1: It won't absorb fuel, and then you'll get sparks when 614 00:37:07,239 --> 00:37:09,799 Speaker 1: you're trying to use your lighter, but it won't actually light. 615 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:12,840 Speaker 1: So if you're using a Zippo like lighter, what you 616 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:15,399 Speaker 1: would do is you use some tweezers or a pair 617 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:17,839 Speaker 1: of needle nose players to grab hold of the end 618 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:20,040 Speaker 1: of the wick, and you would pull it out a 619 00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:22,960 Speaker 1: little bit so that you get a clean section of 620 00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:27,520 Speaker 1: wick inside the chimney of that lighter. Wicks are several 621 00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:29,680 Speaker 1: inches long, so you can do this a couple of 622 00:37:29,719 --> 00:37:32,080 Speaker 1: times with each wick. And when you do that, you 623 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:35,640 Speaker 1: would then snip off the end of the burnt wick, 624 00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:39,560 Speaker 1: the carbon infused wick UH to remove that part so 625 00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:42,840 Speaker 1: that you get a nice clean section inside the chimney, 626 00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:46,880 Speaker 1: and then you're good to go for a good while longer. Now, 627 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:49,359 Speaker 1: if you've done that a couple of times, there might 628 00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:52,400 Speaker 1: not be enough wick left inside the lighter to do 629 00:37:52,480 --> 00:37:55,160 Speaker 1: it again, and you need to replace the wick. The 630 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:58,640 Speaker 1: replacement process is similar to what you would do if 631 00:37:58,680 --> 00:38:02,040 Speaker 1: you were refueling, but as some extra steps. So you 632 00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:04,319 Speaker 1: take the lighter out of the case, and rather than 633 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:07,840 Speaker 1: just moving the felt pad on the bottom aside, you 634 00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:11,080 Speaker 1: would actually remove that screw at the end. It's called 635 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:14,280 Speaker 1: the flint screw again sparrow cerium, not flint, but whatever. 636 00:38:14,800 --> 00:38:17,040 Speaker 1: You take out the felt pad because now it's no 637 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,120 Speaker 1: longer held there by the screw. UH. You would also 638 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:23,960 Speaker 1: take out the packing material, and the packing material typically 639 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:27,720 Speaker 1: comes out in three or four wads of the stuff. UH. 640 00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:30,960 Speaker 1: You would need to feed a new wick into the lighter. 641 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:34,040 Speaker 1: You could either do it from inside through the fuel chamber, 642 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:38,919 Speaker 1: or you could put it down through the chimney and 643 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:41,880 Speaker 1: you get that so enough of it's poking out the 644 00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:45,200 Speaker 1: top so that you've got the the clean wick at 645 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:47,080 Speaker 1: the top of the chimney, and then you would need 646 00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:49,520 Speaker 1: to replace the packing material. You'd kind of have to 647 00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:52,960 Speaker 1: do it in a way so that the packing material 648 00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:56,719 Speaker 1: is all around the wick, so it has good exposure 649 00:38:57,080 --> 00:38:59,480 Speaker 1: to that packing material, because remember it's the packing material 650 00:38:59,680 --> 00:39:02,800 Speaker 1: the whole the fuel. The fuel then wicks into the wick, 651 00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:04,879 Speaker 1: so you want to make sure it has really good 652 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:08,120 Speaker 1: um exposure to all of that. So you're packing the 653 00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:11,960 Speaker 1: material all around the wick until it's all replaced. Then 654 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,839 Speaker 1: you would put the felt pad back in place, and 655 00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:18,560 Speaker 1: you would re insert the flint screw, and then you 656 00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:21,520 Speaker 1: could put it back inside the case and it would 657 00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:23,560 Speaker 1: be good to go. Now, the reason I went through 658 00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:27,680 Speaker 1: all that process wasn't to talk about Zippo the brand 659 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,799 Speaker 1: or anything. I'm not here to sell Zippo lighters, but 660 00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:35,200 Speaker 1: rather to explain how lighters like the Zippo differ from 661 00:39:35,280 --> 00:39:40,160 Speaker 1: other types of lighters, specifically those that use buttane, because 662 00:39:40,160 --> 00:39:43,400 Speaker 1: not all lighters are created equal, and betane lighters work 663 00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:48,240 Speaker 1: on slightly different principles from these style lighters, the wick 664 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:51,400 Speaker 1: based lighters. I'll explain more in just a moment. But 665 00:39:51,480 --> 00:40:02,080 Speaker 1: first let's take another quick break. Before the break, I 666 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:06,120 Speaker 1: mentioned butane lighters, and they use butane as the fuel, 667 00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:09,840 Speaker 1: and the basic type still uses a piece of ferrocerium 668 00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:13,560 Speaker 1: to generate sparks to ignite that fuel. So in some 669 00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:16,080 Speaker 1: ways they're very similar to the other types of lighters 670 00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:19,280 Speaker 1: I just mentioned, but there are some key differences between 671 00:40:19,320 --> 00:40:23,319 Speaker 1: butane lighters and the NUFA or lighter fluid based ones 672 00:40:23,400 --> 00:40:26,480 Speaker 1: I had just been talking about. At room temperature and 673 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:31,480 Speaker 1: under normal atmospheric pressure, butane is a gas. It's naturally 674 00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:36,320 Speaker 1: colorless and odorless. It's a hydrocarbon that's found in natural gas. 675 00:40:36,360 --> 00:40:39,680 Speaker 1: It's also a byproduct during the process of refining petroleum 676 00:40:39,719 --> 00:40:44,600 Speaker 1: to produce gasoline, and it is ignitable. But if you 677 00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:48,560 Speaker 1: were to compress butane just a little bit, it liquefies. 678 00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:51,520 Speaker 1: And it doesn't take too much pressure to convert mutane 679 00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:54,600 Speaker 1: from a gas to liquid at room temperature about three 680 00:40:54,600 --> 00:40:57,479 Speaker 1: and a half atmospheres of pressure. So if you sell 681 00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:02,600 Speaker 1: bututane in a container that can hold that pressure, you 682 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:05,640 Speaker 1: apply that much pressure to it, at least the gas 683 00:41:05,640 --> 00:41:08,960 Speaker 1: condenses into a liquid. Now I wish I could tell 684 00:41:09,040 --> 00:41:12,360 Speaker 1: you when someone thought to use butane as a fuel 685 00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:15,279 Speaker 1: for lighters. But honestly, there doesn't seem to be any 686 00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:18,799 Speaker 1: record of when someone thought of that idea first. There 687 00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:23,840 Speaker 1: are a lot of very general, vague descriptions. Some sources 688 00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:26,719 Speaker 1: go really vague. They say something like sometime in the 689 00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:30,640 Speaker 1: nineteen fifties people started using butchane for lighters. Others say 690 00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:32,719 Speaker 1: it dates back a little earlier than that, with the 691 00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:35,360 Speaker 1: invention of the butuane lighter coming somewhere in the nineteen 692 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:39,560 Speaker 1: thirties or nineteen forties, whenever they were first manufactured, and 693 00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:42,480 Speaker 1: whomever it was that figured it out. They work on 694 00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:46,799 Speaker 1: a pretty ingenious principle. So inside a butane lighter, the 695 00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:49,680 Speaker 1: fuel chamber is sealed, so it acts as a low 696 00:41:49,800 --> 00:41:53,799 Speaker 1: pressure container that keeps mutane in liquid form because it's 697 00:41:53,920 --> 00:41:57,120 Speaker 1: under that three and a half atmospheres of pressure. A 698 00:41:57,239 --> 00:42:00,600 Speaker 1: tube from the fuel chamber to the chim me, you know, 699 00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:04,160 Speaker 1: the part where the flame comes up, acts as a 700 00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:07,720 Speaker 1: conduit for this fuel. And the tube has a valve 701 00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:10,400 Speaker 1: and a nozzle, so there's a valve and then right 702 00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:13,319 Speaker 1: after the valves nozzle, so when the lighter is not used, 703 00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:16,200 Speaker 1: the valve is shut. So the bututane remains in liquid form, 704 00:42:16,239 --> 00:42:19,720 Speaker 1: there's nowhere for it to go. On a classic butane lighter, 705 00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:22,239 Speaker 1: you've got the striking wheel, just like in the other 706 00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:25,080 Speaker 1: lighters I've described, and rather than a wick, you have 707 00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:28,320 Speaker 1: the end of a nozzle. And then there's this little 708 00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:31,480 Speaker 1: button that you're supposed to hold down like you spin 709 00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:33,440 Speaker 1: the wheel, and when your thumb comes down at the 710 00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:36,120 Speaker 1: end of the spin, it presses this button and you're 711 00:42:36,160 --> 00:42:39,400 Speaker 1: supposed to hold it down. That button is the release 712 00:42:39,760 --> 00:42:42,880 Speaker 1: for the valve that closes off the tube from the 713 00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:47,240 Speaker 1: fuel chamber. When that valve opens, there's a lower pressure 714 00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:50,200 Speaker 1: pathway for the but tane to move through, and we 715 00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:53,120 Speaker 1: know that fluids will move from an area of high 716 00:42:53,120 --> 00:42:56,520 Speaker 1: pressure to an area of low pressure. So when this 717 00:42:56,600 --> 00:42:59,440 Speaker 1: valve opens, the but tane moves up the tube and 718 00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:03,120 Speaker 1: it hits the nozzle. The mutane then boils off into 719 00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:07,960 Speaker 1: butane gas. The spark from the striking wheel uh and 720 00:43:08,080 --> 00:43:13,080 Speaker 1: the flint or pharaoh's cirium ignites this escaping butane gas. 721 00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:15,680 Speaker 1: So as long as you hold down the button, you 722 00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:18,520 Speaker 1: keep the valve open, and the buttane gas continues to 723 00:43:18,560 --> 00:43:22,240 Speaker 1: come out and feeds the flame. It provides the fuel, 724 00:43:22,680 --> 00:43:25,359 Speaker 1: so the fuel is constantly being replenished as long as 725 00:43:25,360 --> 00:43:27,279 Speaker 1: you hold down the button. When you let go of 726 00:43:27,280 --> 00:43:30,560 Speaker 1: the button, it closes the valve, thus cutting off the 727 00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:34,040 Speaker 1: fuel to the flame, and the flame goes out. Buttane 728 00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:37,440 Speaker 1: lighters don't require a wick, so there's no need to 729 00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:41,479 Speaker 1: replace wicks over time. There's no wick to replace. Many 730 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:45,560 Speaker 1: buttane lighters have a means of adjusting how wide that 731 00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:48,080 Speaker 1: valve will open when you press down on a button. 732 00:43:48,440 --> 00:43:51,799 Speaker 1: That affects how much butane gas can escape at any 733 00:43:51,840 --> 00:43:55,560 Speaker 1: given amount of time, so it affects how big the 734 00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:59,000 Speaker 1: flame will be. More fuel means bigger flame. Less fuel 735 00:43:59,160 --> 00:44:01,680 Speaker 1: means smaller flame, so if you restrict the valve you 736 00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:03,840 Speaker 1: get a very low flame. You open the valve as 737 00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:06,160 Speaker 1: much as you can, the flame would be much larger. 738 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:10,920 Speaker 1: Another advantage was that butane didn't give off an unpleasant 739 00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:15,319 Speaker 1: odor the way earlier fuels were. They were smelly, but 740 00:44:15,520 --> 00:44:19,600 Speaker 1: butuane didn't smell. It burned without making any sort of 741 00:44:19,640 --> 00:44:23,560 Speaker 1: smell at all. Really, one disadvantage is that it's trickier 742 00:44:23,600 --> 00:44:28,160 Speaker 1: to refuel a bututane lighter. Some beautane lighters are marketed 743 00:44:28,200 --> 00:44:31,480 Speaker 1: as disposable, which really just means there's no way to 744 00:44:31,600 --> 00:44:34,560 Speaker 1: refuel them at all once they're out, so you're meant 745 00:44:34,600 --> 00:44:37,920 Speaker 1: to throw them away and buy a new one. And 746 00:44:37,920 --> 00:44:40,520 Speaker 1: when I say there's no way, people have figured out ways. 747 00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:43,520 Speaker 1: But typically you're meant to just use it and then 748 00:44:43,640 --> 00:44:46,840 Speaker 1: toss it, which is pretty wasteful. Perhaps the best known 749 00:44:47,040 --> 00:44:50,240 Speaker 1: of these is the Big Lighter, which was first produced 750 00:44:50,239 --> 00:44:52,959 Speaker 1: in the early nineteen seventies. The bit lighter was seen 751 00:44:53,040 --> 00:44:57,400 Speaker 1: as an inexpensive alternative to the more fashionable lighters like Zippo. 752 00:44:58,040 --> 00:45:01,239 Speaker 1: Other bututane lighters are meant to be reusable, and they 753 00:45:01,239 --> 00:45:04,520 Speaker 1: include a second valve. This is typically on the base 754 00:45:04,600 --> 00:45:07,239 Speaker 1: of the lighter, the underside of the lighter, and this 755 00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:11,840 Speaker 1: valve allows buttane gas to get injected into the fuel chamber, 756 00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:15,279 Speaker 1: but prevents it from coming back out. Now, typically if 757 00:45:15,280 --> 00:45:18,480 Speaker 1: you were refueling a butane lighter, you would hold the 758 00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:21,759 Speaker 1: lighter upside down. You'd use something pointy to kind of 759 00:45:21,800 --> 00:45:24,520 Speaker 1: open up the valve and bleed it of any old 760 00:45:24,560 --> 00:45:27,760 Speaker 1: butane gas, and then you would get a butane refill 761 00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:31,040 Speaker 1: can which has a nozzle on the end. The nozzle 762 00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:35,359 Speaker 1: goes into the valve of the lighter and you would 763 00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:39,439 Speaker 1: just insert the bututane can into the lighter, and after 764 00:45:39,520 --> 00:45:42,439 Speaker 1: just a couple of seconds, like five seconds, it would 765 00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:47,839 Speaker 1: refill the fuel chamber on the butane lighter, and you'd 766 00:45:47,840 --> 00:45:50,000 Speaker 1: want to wait a little bit for the fuel inside 767 00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:52,239 Speaker 1: the lighter to reach room temperature and then you can 768 00:45:52,280 --> 00:45:56,040 Speaker 1: start using it again. Over time, a new variant on 769 00:45:56,080 --> 00:45:58,520 Speaker 1: the butuane lighter showed up. This is the piece of 770 00:45:58,560 --> 00:46:00,680 Speaker 1: electric lighter. I told you we kind of come back 771 00:46:00,719 --> 00:46:03,640 Speaker 1: to it. So remember how I said. Quartz is an 772 00:46:03,640 --> 00:46:06,800 Speaker 1: interesting material. If you apply mechanical stress to it, the 773 00:46:06,880 --> 00:46:10,680 Speaker 1: quarts generates an internal electric charge. Well that's a manifestation 774 00:46:10,719 --> 00:46:12,800 Speaker 1: of the piece of electric effect. So a piece of 775 00:46:12,880 --> 00:46:16,600 Speaker 1: electric lighter uses this particular phenomenon in order to generate 776 00:46:16,600 --> 00:46:20,560 Speaker 1: a spark. So there's no ferro serrium in a uh 777 00:46:20,600 --> 00:46:23,120 Speaker 1: in a in this kind of lighter, or or flint 778 00:46:23,200 --> 00:46:26,680 Speaker 1: if you prefer, there's none of that instead. A piece 779 00:46:26,719 --> 00:46:29,720 Speaker 1: of electric lighter typically has a button on the lighter. 780 00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:32,720 Speaker 1: If you push down on that button, you would probably 781 00:46:32,760 --> 00:46:35,000 Speaker 1: feel a click, kind of like a click pen. But 782 00:46:35,080 --> 00:46:37,960 Speaker 1: what's happening is that the button is typically doing two things. 783 00:46:38,400 --> 00:46:41,600 Speaker 1: It's transferring the force you've just exerted on the button 784 00:46:41,800 --> 00:46:45,000 Speaker 1: onto some piece of electric material, and maybe not directly, 785 00:46:45,320 --> 00:46:48,640 Speaker 1: it might pull back and then release a spring loaded 786 00:46:48,680 --> 00:46:52,239 Speaker 1: hammer which then strikes this piece of electric material that 787 00:46:52,280 --> 00:46:55,480 Speaker 1: makes the material generate an electric charge, and that creates 788 00:46:55,480 --> 00:46:59,000 Speaker 1: a difference of voltage between two little electrodes and causes 789 00:46:59,120 --> 00:47:03,279 Speaker 1: a small spark to fly between them. And at the 790 00:47:03,360 --> 00:47:08,040 Speaker 1: same time, pushing down on the button also releases a 791 00:47:08,160 --> 00:47:12,720 Speaker 1: valve that opens up the pathway to the fuel chamber, 792 00:47:12,960 --> 00:47:16,840 Speaker 1: so beutane gas escapes at that same moment, so the 793 00:47:16,880 --> 00:47:21,000 Speaker 1: beautane gas starts to come out of the chamber through 794 00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:23,799 Speaker 1: a nozzle at the same time as a spark is 795 00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:27,720 Speaker 1: flying across the nozzle and that ignites the escaping gas 796 00:47:27,760 --> 00:47:30,840 Speaker 1: and you get a flame. So you see this in 797 00:47:30,880 --> 00:47:34,320 Speaker 1: a lot of different types of lighters, including like pocket lighters, 798 00:47:34,360 --> 00:47:37,360 Speaker 1: but also the utility lighters that I think about, like 799 00:47:37,400 --> 00:47:40,200 Speaker 1: the ones that have the very long stems and use 800 00:47:40,320 --> 00:47:44,600 Speaker 1: them to light candles or fireplaces, that kind of thing. Uh, 801 00:47:44,640 --> 00:47:49,040 Speaker 1: they typically have the piezo electric approach as opposed to 802 00:47:49,200 --> 00:47:53,279 Speaker 1: a faroh cirium kind of lighting system. So you can 803 00:47:53,320 --> 00:47:56,920 Speaker 1: find lighters like this that actually fit into lighter cases, 804 00:47:56,960 --> 00:47:59,360 Speaker 1: like the ones made famous by Zippo. So if you 805 00:47:59,440 --> 00:48:04,160 Speaker 1: preferred that mechanism to the faro syrium traditional type of lighter, 806 00:48:04,239 --> 00:48:05,799 Speaker 1: you could swap them out, and you can take out 807 00:48:05,840 --> 00:48:08,000 Speaker 1: one lighter and you put another one in the same case. 808 00:48:08,360 --> 00:48:10,400 Speaker 1: And a neat thing about this particular type of lighter 809 00:48:10,440 --> 00:48:13,240 Speaker 1: is that although it uses an electric spark to ignite 810 00:48:13,239 --> 00:48:16,480 Speaker 1: a flame, there's no need for a battery or anything 811 00:48:16,520 --> 00:48:19,480 Speaker 1: like that. There's no source of electricity apart from the 812 00:48:19,480 --> 00:48:22,680 Speaker 1: piece of electric material. So as long as that material 813 00:48:22,800 --> 00:48:25,640 Speaker 1: is inside the lighter, and as long as the mechanism 814 00:48:25,880 --> 00:48:29,880 Speaker 1: that exerts mechanical stress onto the material is still working, 815 00:48:30,320 --> 00:48:33,600 Speaker 1: you should still be able to generate sparks. One other 816 00:48:33,640 --> 00:48:35,920 Speaker 1: type of lighter I should mention before I close out 817 00:48:35,960 --> 00:48:39,560 Speaker 1: this episode works on yet another principle, and this would 818 00:48:39,560 --> 00:48:43,080 Speaker 1: be the old fashioned car cigarette lighters. And you don't 819 00:48:43,120 --> 00:48:45,640 Speaker 1: typically see these in cars anymore, at least not as 820 00:48:45,680 --> 00:48:48,880 Speaker 1: a standard option, but it used to be a really 821 00:48:48,960 --> 00:48:53,239 Speaker 1: common feature. So they look like little knobs that are 822 00:48:53,280 --> 00:48:55,880 Speaker 1: typically somewhere in the dashboard and you would push it 823 00:48:55,920 --> 00:48:58,480 Speaker 1: in and it would remain pushed in for a short 824 00:48:58,520 --> 00:49:01,120 Speaker 1: while before it would hop back out, kind of like 825 00:49:01,160 --> 00:49:04,440 Speaker 1: a toaster. You would then pull the knob out of 826 00:49:04,480 --> 00:49:08,879 Speaker 1: the dashboard and the other end from the handle would 827 00:49:08,920 --> 00:49:11,560 Speaker 1: be glowing red hot, and you would apply that into 828 00:49:11,600 --> 00:49:14,000 Speaker 1: whatever it was he wanted to light, which more often 829 00:49:14,040 --> 00:49:17,760 Speaker 1: than not was a cigarette, and the heat was greater 830 00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:20,440 Speaker 1: than the ignition temperature of the material and it starts 831 00:49:20,480 --> 00:49:23,279 Speaker 1: to burn. Now, I have a distinct memory of being 832 00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:26,799 Speaker 1: a kid and my dad patiently explaining to me that 833 00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:30,560 Speaker 1: the cigarette lighter on the dashboard of our old Dodge 834 00:49:30,719 --> 00:49:33,920 Speaker 1: Dart would in fact get super super hot. He was 835 00:49:33,960 --> 00:49:36,319 Speaker 1: trying to teach me to be careful and not to 836 00:49:36,400 --> 00:49:39,440 Speaker 1: play with it, right, because this was in the nineteen 837 00:49:39,520 --> 00:49:43,920 Speaker 1: seventies when such things were common, And I remember I 838 00:49:43,960 --> 00:49:47,319 Speaker 1: was a particularly dumb kid, No big surprise there. You 839 00:49:47,360 --> 00:49:50,120 Speaker 1: guys all know who I am. And I immediately didn't 840 00:49:50,120 --> 00:49:53,280 Speaker 1: believe him. So I touched it and I burnt myself 841 00:49:53,760 --> 00:49:56,480 Speaker 1: because I was dumb. But I learned a valuable lesson, 842 00:49:56,960 --> 00:49:58,920 Speaker 1: one that my dad was telling the truth, and to 843 00:49:59,200 --> 00:50:02,960 Speaker 1: that the facts. Car cigarette lighters get really really hot. 844 00:50:03,280 --> 00:50:06,319 Speaker 1: But how do they get hot. Well, in the end 845 00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:09,319 Speaker 1: of the car cigarette lighter, the business end, the end 846 00:50:09,320 --> 00:50:13,399 Speaker 1: that lights stuff. There's a coil of wire, and it's 847 00:50:13,440 --> 00:50:17,720 Speaker 1: typically made from something like nichrome, which is nickel chrome, 848 00:50:18,160 --> 00:50:20,840 Speaker 1: and it's a generic term for a group of alloys 849 00:50:20,920 --> 00:50:23,560 Speaker 1: that are made up of surprise, surprise, nickel and chrome 850 00:50:23,640 --> 00:50:26,839 Speaker 1: and sometimes other stuff like iron. This material has a 851 00:50:26,880 --> 00:50:32,120 Speaker 1: pretty high resistivity. That means it's resistant to electrical current 852 00:50:32,440 --> 00:50:36,719 Speaker 1: flowing through that material and quick refresh. You can think 853 00:50:36,719 --> 00:50:42,360 Speaker 1: of all materials everywhere as being on a spectrum of conductivity. 854 00:50:42,440 --> 00:50:45,759 Speaker 1: At one end extreme end of that spectrum, you have 855 00:50:45,800 --> 00:50:49,640 Speaker 1: stuff that allows electricity to pass without any resistance at all. 856 00:50:49,760 --> 00:50:53,200 Speaker 1: The electrons just flow through it, there's no problem there. 857 00:50:53,239 --> 00:50:56,200 Speaker 1: These would be super conductors, and typically we don't see 858 00:50:56,239 --> 00:50:59,960 Speaker 1: superconductors unless we have some very special circumstances involved, such 859 00:51:00,080 --> 00:51:04,279 Speaker 1: is cooling stuff down to near absolute zero. On the 860 00:51:04,320 --> 00:51:07,160 Speaker 1: opposite end of the spectrum, you have material that pretty 861 00:51:07,239 --> 00:51:10,400 Speaker 1: much prevents any electrical current from passing through that material 862 00:51:10,480 --> 00:51:14,640 Speaker 1: at all. It just stops. These would be insulators. Nichrome 863 00:51:14,880 --> 00:51:17,839 Speaker 1: resists the flow of electricity. It allows it to move through, 864 00:51:18,120 --> 00:51:21,360 Speaker 1: but it resists the flow, and in the process the 865 00:51:21,480 --> 00:51:24,480 Speaker 1: metal heats up as some of that energy from the 866 00:51:24,480 --> 00:51:28,400 Speaker 1: electricity gets converted over into heat. So if you had 867 00:51:28,440 --> 00:51:30,880 Speaker 1: a coil of this stuff, and you passed an electric 868 00:51:30,920 --> 00:51:34,040 Speaker 1: current through it, the stuff heats up. And that's the 869 00:51:34,080 --> 00:51:38,000 Speaker 1: basic principle behind inventions like the electric stove and electric 870 00:51:38,080 --> 00:51:42,879 Speaker 1: space heaters. They use wires or uh components like this 871 00:51:43,160 --> 00:51:47,799 Speaker 1: with high resistivity to convert electrical current into heat. Now, well, 872 00:51:47,920 --> 00:51:50,560 Speaker 1: when it's not in use, the car cigarette lighter isn't 873 00:51:50,600 --> 00:51:54,000 Speaker 1: in contact with the electrodes that would otherwise push electric 874 00:51:54,040 --> 00:51:56,960 Speaker 1: current through the lighter. But when you pressed the lighter in, 875 00:51:57,600 --> 00:52:00,680 Speaker 1: it would engage with those electrodes and the current would 876 00:52:00,680 --> 00:52:04,480 Speaker 1: come from the car's overall electrical circuit. Inside the lighter 877 00:52:04,840 --> 00:52:08,040 Speaker 1: is a spring, so it compresses as you push it in, 878 00:52:08,160 --> 00:52:11,359 Speaker 1: and there's a little retaining clip that would engage when 879 00:52:11,400 --> 00:52:13,600 Speaker 1: it was pushed all the way in and would hold 880 00:52:14,120 --> 00:52:18,759 Speaker 1: the cigarette lighter in that compressed state, so it's in 881 00:52:18,840 --> 00:52:23,480 Speaker 1: contact with those electrodes. But the clip, the retaining clip 882 00:52:24,120 --> 00:52:27,880 Speaker 1: was made from a bimetallic material. Now, as the name implies, 883 00:52:28,200 --> 00:52:30,880 Speaker 1: bimetallic stuff is made up of two metals, and in 884 00:52:30,880 --> 00:52:33,760 Speaker 1: this case, it's a strip that's made up of two 885 00:52:33,800 --> 00:52:38,560 Speaker 1: different materials that expand at different rates when they get hot. 886 00:52:38,840 --> 00:52:42,040 Speaker 1: So you press the lighter in the current goes through 887 00:52:42,080 --> 00:52:45,799 Speaker 1: the nichrome wire, the wire heats up and the biometallic 888 00:52:45,920 --> 00:52:49,320 Speaker 1: restraining clips starts to get hot until one side of 889 00:52:49,320 --> 00:52:51,480 Speaker 1: the clip begins to expand faster than the other and 890 00:52:51,520 --> 00:52:54,319 Speaker 1: it starts to curl away. Eventually that bends the clip 891 00:52:54,480 --> 00:52:57,640 Speaker 1: enough so that the spring is released and the cigarette 892 00:52:57,680 --> 00:53:00,560 Speaker 1: lighter pops back out from the dashboard. It disc engages 893 00:53:00,640 --> 00:53:03,279 Speaker 1: from the electrodes and you're able to pull it out 894 00:53:03,320 --> 00:53:07,160 Speaker 1: the dashboard and that end is super hot. These days, 895 00:53:07,200 --> 00:53:10,720 Speaker 1: you typically seen car manufacturers offer this as an electrical 896 00:53:10,760 --> 00:53:14,200 Speaker 1: outlet rather than a cigarette lighter, and you could plug 897 00:53:14,280 --> 00:53:16,400 Speaker 1: something again, like a converter so that you can plug 898 00:53:16,400 --> 00:53:18,920 Speaker 1: in your your cell phone chargers, that kind of stuff. 899 00:53:19,960 --> 00:53:23,719 Speaker 1: But occasionally you can find car manufacturers that offer it 900 00:53:23,760 --> 00:53:26,640 Speaker 1: as an option or you can get as an aftermarket 901 00:53:26,880 --> 00:53:30,120 Speaker 1: thing for your vehicle. But really we've seen a massive 902 00:53:30,160 --> 00:53:33,520 Speaker 1: decline in car cigarette lighters over the years, as we've 903 00:53:33,560 --> 00:53:36,359 Speaker 1: also seen a decline in cigarette smoking in general, which 904 00:53:36,440 --> 00:53:38,600 Speaker 1: I considered to be a good thing. So there you 905 00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:41,839 Speaker 1: have it. That's how lighters work, and I think it's 906 00:53:41,840 --> 00:53:44,000 Speaker 1: a good idea to have a few lighters just in 907 00:53:44,120 --> 00:53:47,200 Speaker 1: case of emergencies. Such as loss of power. A good 908 00:53:47,239 --> 00:53:50,440 Speaker 1: piezo electric lighter, particularly one of those utility lighters I 909 00:53:50,480 --> 00:53:52,879 Speaker 1: was talking about that half a long stem that could 910 00:53:52,880 --> 00:53:55,200 Speaker 1: be really handy if you need to light stuff like 911 00:53:55,320 --> 00:53:58,280 Speaker 1: candles or lamps in the case of a power power failure. 912 00:53:58,440 --> 00:54:00,920 Speaker 1: It's also good to know how to use pharaoh sirium 913 00:54:01,440 --> 00:54:05,120 Speaker 1: like pharaoh sirium sticks or fire starter sticks. I think 914 00:54:05,160 --> 00:54:08,400 Speaker 1: it's a must have component if you ever plan on 915 00:54:08,440 --> 00:54:11,200 Speaker 1: doing stuff like camping, or you want to have like 916 00:54:11,239 --> 00:54:15,840 Speaker 1: a survivalist gear package, you gotta have fire starter sticks. 917 00:54:15,840 --> 00:54:18,279 Speaker 1: It's a reliable way to generate the sparks you need 918 00:54:18,320 --> 00:54:21,160 Speaker 1: to start campfires. You don't have to worry about water 919 00:54:21,280 --> 00:54:24,800 Speaker 1: ruining your matches, or you don't have to carry combustible fuel, 920 00:54:24,880 --> 00:54:27,200 Speaker 1: which in itself could be a danger. The good old 921 00:54:27,200 --> 00:54:30,240 Speaker 1: fire sticks will really serve you well in those cases. 922 00:54:30,800 --> 00:54:33,360 Speaker 1: But that wraps up this episode. If you guys have 923 00:54:33,400 --> 00:54:37,160 Speaker 1: suggestions for future topics for tech stuff, let me know. 924 00:54:37,320 --> 00:54:39,360 Speaker 1: You can get in touch with me on social media 925 00:54:39,480 --> 00:54:42,560 Speaker 1: Facebook or Twitter. The handle for both of those is 926 00:54:42,600 --> 00:54:45,360 Speaker 1: text stuff h s. W LL look forward to hearing 927 00:54:45,400 --> 00:54:48,720 Speaker 1: from you, and I'll talk to you again really soon. 928 00:54:53,360 --> 00:54:55,560 Speaker 1: Tex Stuff is a production of I heart Radio's How 929 00:54:55,640 --> 00:54:59,000 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit 930 00:54:59,040 --> 00:55:02,440 Speaker 1: the i heart radio app Apple Podcasts, wherever you listen 931 00:55:02,480 --> 00:55:03,520 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.