How to make a homemade lighter

There are many ways to make homemade lighters. One of them is to use the concept of electrical conduction to generate an ignition to light, for example, a match to light a gas cooker (such as a paraffin lighter), a firework or a barbecue at a safe distance. In this article, we will look at how to make a homemade lighter quickly, while learning basic electrical concepts.

Materials

- Electrical conductor (copper wire at least 50 cm long)

- A match.

- A pair of type C batteries (large ones).

- Small piece of copper wire.

How to make our lighter

First, we cut our electrical conductor into two pieces of 25 cm each. With the help of a knife, we remove the insulation from both sides of each of the pieces of electrical conductor, approximately between 30 and 50 millimetres.

With a thin piece of copper wire, we join the two conductors that we have previously prepared, so that they do not become detached and allow the flow of electricity between the two conductors.

The next step is delicate, we must be careful not to break the small copper wire that joins our conductors. We place a match or matchstick between the conductors, and check that the copper wire that joins the conductors touches the head of the match.

Next, we take some insulating tape (electrical tape) and fix the match and the conductors well without breaking the wire, and keeping the assembly firm to prevent it from separating before ignition.

With the structure ready, we proceed to the first test. We make a circuit with two or three type C batteries connected in series using insulating tape and fix them on a table. Next, we place our lighter on a metal cover and with the free ends of the conductors we close the circuit, placing one end of the conductors on the negative pole of the series arrangement and the other end on the positive pole.

In a few seconds, we can see how the phosphor lights up, demonstrating the functioning of our cigarette lighter. To reload, we remove the tape and change the match.

How it works

Electricity flows through the conductors and heats the thin copper wire (Joule effect). The heat of the wire becomes so intense that it ignites the phosphor, which is ignited by the influence of the heat.

If we replace the battery array with a motorbike battery or a more powerful source of electricity, ignition will be much faster.