Light Manipulation via Flashlights

[TheShape03]

For one thing, a lot of those numbers seem like absolute bullshit (there's no way they're selling a 2.5 mil lumen flashlight for $25; 10,000 lumens can cause permanent blindness), for another thing, you're going off saying "tactical". You're generalising way too hard here.

I can't have a discussion with y'all about this if you keep pointing to the strongest military-grade flashlights on the market as if they're representative of what every random teenager in a sitcom has.

"strongest military-grade flashlights"

many flashlights used for everyday tasks have 150 to 500 lumens.

150 - 500 lumens: Everyday tasks indoors and outdoors, DIY

Of course, everyday tasks surely require military flashlights

 

[Agnaa]

Of course, everyday tasks surely require military flashlights

many flashlights used for everyday tasks have 150 to 500 lumens.

That link says that, however....

150 - 500 lumens: Everyday tasks indoors and outdoors, DIY

This link doesn't, and this link you provided earlier:

Standard flashlights have 100 lumens

Says that 10-20 lumens is used for searching for things up to 100 meters away, and that 20-150 is for basic household/outdoor activities, and searching things up to 120 meters away.

That sounds a lot more typical of what we see in fiction.

Meanwhile, that link also says that 200-500 is used for sailing, fishing, climbing, hiking, hunting, workplaces, and tactical tasks. That range, where you'd consider it blinding in daytime, is for tasks which are generally less common in fiction.

But hey, those are just two random websites that conflict, so who knows?

Although, a point which bears repeating; this shit is complicated in a way which usually makes those numbers less impressive! Lumens measure the entire light emitted, so simply increasing the area without changing the brightness on any particular spot increases it, which isn't more likely to blind people (which is why light bulbs, typically emitting hundreds of lumens, don't blind you when you look at them). Plus, the brightness which actually hits someone's eyes goes down very quickly with distance; for every time you double the distance to your target, the brightness hitting their eyes gets reduced to a quarter, making even solid brightnesses quickly become useless in a realistic combat scenario for them of the target standing at least a dozen meters away.

Really, all of this should be common sense if you've simply had someone shine an ordinary flashlight at you during the daytime. You're not going to get bloody incapacitated.

 

[Jason_Courne]

For one thing, a lot of those numbers seem like absolute bullshit (there's no way they're selling a 2.5 mil lumen flashlight for $25; 10,000 lumens can cause permanent blindness), for another thing, you're going off saying "tactical". You're generalising way too hard here.

I can't have a discussion with y'all about this if you keep pointing to the strongest military-grade flashlights on the market as if they're representative of what every random teenager in a sitcom has.

You completely ignored that 200+ lumens are well within the standard for normal LED flashlights and only adressed the obvious scams / outliers like million trillion+ lumen flashlights

I will admit I was using tactical flashlight too loosely, but even civilian grade commercially sold weapon mounted lights range from the 400 to over a thousand lumens

 

[Agnaa]

You completely ignored that 200+ lumens are well within the standard for normal LED flashlights and only adressed the obvious scams / outliers like million trillion+ lumen flashlights

I will admit I was using tactical flashlight too loosely, but even civilian grade commercially sold weapon mounted lights range from the 400 to over a thousand lumens

If something provides 1000 lumens on something eye-sized from 1 meter away, that means it provides the equivalent of 16 lumens on something eye-sized from 8 meters away.

Without the additional information of where that lumen amount is taken, we can't really determine whether it's useful in a fight. And I'd bet it's taken from a misleadingly-close location, because you will not be temporarily blinded by shining an ordinary flashlight in your eyes from arms length during the daytime. There'd be some residual bright spots, but y'all are seriously exaggerating this.

 

[Agnaa]

I just flashed this flashlight in my eyes from arms-length away. It says it emits 1,200 lumens. I was not "temporarily blinded". It appeared bright, but I could still see in and around it. I had a small (arms-length pinkie) sized lingering bright spot for a few minutes, but that's about it.

Can we stop this chain of argument now?

 

[Eden_Warlock99]

Most Light Manip is also just lighting up areas, nothing about blinding others or whatever

 

[IDK3465]

Personally, I think we should still count flashlights under minor light manip as, unlike other mundane objects, the direct point of a flashlight is to generate light. As long as a character's flashlight is notable and commonly used by them enough to warrant standard equipment (something, mind you, regular humans don't regularly have on them all the time or even own like you seem to claim), it should be notable enough to be listed, especially if they're shown to use it in combat.

Yes, it's a very niche thing to use, but if the character's in a fight with an opponent with darkness manipulation, you can't just pretend that character has something that directly counters it, even if it's mundane.

 

[Jason_Courne]

If something provides 1000 lumens on something eye-sized from 1 meter away, that means it provides the equivalent of 16 lumens on something eye-sized from 8 meters away.

A 1 meter distance is still high end, nearly above, standard melee range. Even from a 3 meter distance it would still be bright enough cause substantial discomfort for the eyes

I just flashed this flashlight in my eyes from arms-length away. It says it emits 1,200 lumens. I was not "temporarily blinded". It appeared bright, but I could still see in and around it. I had a small (arms-length pinkie) sized lingering bright spot for a few minutes, but that's about it.

I have an old LED Energizer flashlight, it is completely blinding within arms reach and still hurts my eyes from an entire room distance away.

 

[Agnaa]

I have an old LED Energizer flashlight, it is completely blinding within arms reach and still hurts my eyes from an entire room distance away.

Guess I just resist light manip then, idk.

 

[Deagonx]

I decided to join the "endure mild retinal bleaching for a CRT" train and used this 350 lumen flashlight from arms length, can confirm, the effect was mild.

 

[Agnaa]

Maybe this is just survivorship bias; everyone who tested it and blinded themselves can't respond....

 

[Chariot190]

Can confirm this fuckass light blinded me for like half a second and had lingering effects for a solid 10 seconds.

Not crippling but hey, half a second with slight annoying lingering effects can mean a lot, probably make it harder to react to a punch or knife or something.

 

[Flashlight237]

I just flashed this flashlight in my eyes from arms-length away. It says it emits 1,200 lumens. I was not "temporarily blinded". It appeared bright, but I could still see in and around it. I had a small (arms-length pinkie) sized lingering bright spot for a few minutes, but that's about it.

Can we stop this chain of argument now?

First time you had to personally test something out to convince people?