How to Light

Unless you're in law enforcement, you won't usually have a flashlight on hand for those rare moments when you need to sift through the dark. However, it is very likely that you will have your phone on you, so you'll have fast access to a bright light with just a few easy taps. ...more

Black lights come in all shapes and sizes, and they're useful in a variety of ways. They can help you spot fake currency, urine stains, interesting rocks, and deadly scorpions, and they can even help you view cool fluorescent artwork. Most black lights work using a filter or ...more

Like Russian Matryoshka dolls, the features on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ often have hidden components within them that add to their functionality. The phone's flashlight is a great example of this since there's a hidden shortcut within the "Flashlight" Quick Settings tile that let ...more

For the craftsters & LED lovers, great idea by Johanna Hyrkas. The LED carpet-light: a simple, yet novel DIY project. A single strand of LEDs is encased in a knit tube; the knit tube is wound together to form a carpet. Brush up on your knitting skills, and get creative.

Navigating through the darkness—literal darkness, not the existential variety—is always a difficult task on its own, and my Android doesn't necessarily make it any easier. Many manufacturers offer quick access to a flashlight or torch feature, but my Galaxy S4 doesn't have an ...more

In this article, I'll show you how to built a Wireless Transfer of Energy Transmitter. Simply put, this device will send electricity to a florescent light bulb and light it up, from up to three feet. The idea originally (at least, prominently) came from Nikola Tesla (read more ...more

The next time a light bulb burns out in your house, don't throw it out. Believe it or not, burned out light bulbs aren't entirely useless. Besides creating an extra task on your to-do list, they can be hollowed out and used for a variety of different things from home decoratio ...more

Record stealthily, in the dark. This hack is simple and will turn any LED flashlight into an infrared night vision light you can use with any video camera. Infrared light is invisible to the human eye, but it will illuminate any area you are shooting. IR radiation is electrom ...more

I know what you're thinking. Why spend time talking about another flashlight application when there are literally thousands of them scattered throughout Google Play? As it turns out, there is a void in the realm of flashlight Android apps. Flashing lights, strobe lights, cop l ...more

Before all the fancy night mode settings in phone cameras, we used the LED flash to take low-light photos. While it's not used for pictures as much anymore, the LED on the back of your Galaxy is still pretty handy as a flashlight. But did you know there's an easy way to adjust ...more

There are still and live wallpapers on your iPhone that can go dark when Dark Mode is active or light when Light Mode is on, but there's no easy way to do the same for custom backgrounds. That doesn't mean you're out of luck, though, because you can use Shortcuts to build a wo ...more

The infamous Red Ring of Death plagued the Xbox 360 for years, leading people like me over to the PlayStation 3 console. Now it looks like Sony and its new PlayStation 4 are running into the same problems as Microsoft did. Instead of red, it's blue, and that light could mean ...more

In the pursuit of large displays with thinner bezels, Samsung has sacrificed some components. While the loss of the headphone jack gets all the attention, there are other victims — namely, the notification LED. Once a staple on all Android phones, this small light would blink ...more

If you shoot videos with your iPhone in low-light situations, you may not always get the results you want. And that applies when recording video in 720p, 1080p, and even 4K resolutions. But there's an easy way to maximize your video's quality when filming in dark environments. ...more

Haven't you ever wanted to live in a futuristic home? I think that homes are headed towards an era where they will be controlled by our computers and smartphones. No longer will you have to find your keys to unlock your door, or wait until you get home to monitor your security ...more

Whether you're a professional mechanic, a hobbyist, or someone who just wants to know why their check engine light came on, your Android device and an OBD-II adapter can provide insight as to what's going on with your car. Most adapters sell for less than $10, and once you plu ...more

Apple introduced Portrait Mode with the iPhone 7 Plus, a feature which utilized the iPhone's dual cameras to create a shallow depth of field around a subject. This effect replicates the look of DSLR cameras, making your photos look more professional. Apple, of course, carries ...more

Fans of Doctor Who know that the sonic screwdriver is the ultimate tool. It can unlock doors, turn on lights, detect life forms, solder wires, and sabotage weapons. Presumably, the sonic screwdriver creates sonic vibrations to achieve whatever the doctor wants by vibrating th ...more

At one point in time, Tesla coils were actually used for things like wireless telegraphy and electrotherapy, but as technology advanced, they shifted to a slightly more enjoyable purpose—entertainment. What's even more entertaining than using a Tesla coil? Building your own. O ...more

There's absolutely no shortage of flashlight apps on Google Play, so when one comes around that sports uniquely different features than the rest—it should definitely be noted. That's why I bring to you Ambient LED Flashlight, a new app for your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 by Android ...more

With the introduction of the Control Center in iOS 7, we finally had a way to access common system toggles like Wi-Fi, Airplane Mode, and best of all, Flashlight. Of course, there were plenty of adequate flashlight apps in the iOS App Store, but none that made it available str ...more

General Electric isn't known for their Christmas lights, but maybe they should be, because their GE Color Effects are pretty awesome. Especially the LED Color Effects G-35 String sets. And especially when someone named Darco hacks them. Darco, whose real name is Robert Sun Qu ...more

Now that we've had significant time with Samsung's Oreo Beta for the Galaxy S8, many interesting features have come to light. As we continue using the new software, we have uncovered more subtle changes. The home screen already received a few new customization features, it's o ...more

One of my least favorite tasks is crouching in front of the kitchen oven or gas heater, and burning my fingers as I try to restart the pilot light with regular matches. I end up cursing the fact that I don't own extra-long matches or a stove lighter, but then I never go out an ...more

Wait...with only your hand? It's simple. Take a normal Bic-style lighter. Hold down the button to release butane gas into your cupped hand. Then light it. You'll have the flame captured in your hand! Now, go find a cute girl with a cigarette. Magic! Impress a girl by lighti ...more

It's late and dark, I'm playing Dying Light, and, admittedly, I'm a little creeped out. Working as a grown man's night-light, this is one instance where I actually appreciate the light bar on my PlayStation 4's DualShock controller. But outside of a few particular instances, I ...more

Bradley Lewis is a visual effects artist for BioWare by day, but in his spare time he runs Slothfurnace, a blog dedicated to showcasing his incredibly realistic lightsaber replicas. His latest, which took 18 months to build, is Obi-Wan Kenobi's Reveal Lightsaber from A New Hop ...more

I like to grow vegetables all year round, and I couldn't afford the big gas bulbs, or the power to run them. The big gas bulbs: can explode can burn you and your plants cost upwards of $50 a month to operate raise the temperature in your home, causing the air conditioning to ...more

If you've found your speakers to be lacking in the visuals department, this is just the mod for you. Using 3" PVC, you can turn your speakers into light-up glow rods that pulse to the beat of your music. You'll need some electrical skills and experience soldering to get this o ...more

Whether you've got an itch for a mini-flamethrower, a shower of burning sparks, or a exploding ball of flames, these little fireworks-producing lighters may be the answer to your pyrotechnic cravings! Video: . I found these cheap lighters at the dollar store. Three for a buck! ...more

Now that Android 7.1.1 has been released, several features that were previously exclusive to Google's new Pixel phones are now available on the Nexus 6P. However, Google seems to be holding back on the Pixel's best features, as things like the "Night Light" red screen filter, ...more