Scope Investigation Essay

When looking at a flashlight, it can be determined that the flashlight itself resembles a parabola. Flashlights are supposed to be able to focus on a single point, which is infinitely small. Since a flashlight is supposed to mirror a parabola, the flashlight has similar components as a parabola. The filament, which is the part of the flashlight that gives light, resembles the focus on a parabola. The filament is a three dimensional object so it is infinitely larger than a point, yet the filament is still pretty small in comparison to the flashlight as a whole. Even though it might seem odd to compare a filament, a three dimensional object, and the focus, which is just a point, both serve as the ball in the cup to the larger object. The spot …show more content…
Of the types of reflective surfaces, a paraboloid is the best surface for a flashlight. The reason for this is because the paraboloid collimates perfectly, meaning that the directed light is fully parallel and reflected. The worst surface for a flashlight is the absolute value reflector, or cone. In the cone reflector the lines are all diagonal and all cross which is the worst possible type of flashlight. The cone flashlight has horrendous collimation and people should be barred from selling these useless piles of excrement. I believe that the flashlight used in class was a semicircle flashlight. The flashlight was very solid up close however the spot size did change as distance grew. Spherical flashlights are the second best type of flashlight and are much cheaper to make then paraboloid flashlights. The price of paraboloids explain the reason manufactures create cheaper and lower quality flashlights. Most consumers of flashlights are not concerned with the collimation of their flashlight, they most likely have never even heard the word collimation. So manufacturers market their flashlights to the average consumer who just needs a light in the dark as opposed to a perfectly collimated