A headlamp or headlight (known as a head torch in the UK) is a light source affixed to the head for outdoor activities at night or in dark conditions such as

caving Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology i ...

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

backpacking Backpacking may refer to: * Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel * Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness * Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

. Headlamps may also be used in adventure races. Headlamps are often used by workers in underground

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

, surgeons, and by other workers who need hands-free lighting.

Description

Headlamps are usually powered by three or four AA or

AAA batteries The AAA battery (or triple-A battery) is a standard size of dry cell battery. One or more AAA batteries are commonly used in low-drain portable electronic devices. A zinc–carbon battery in this size is designated by IEC as R03, by ANSI C18. ...

. Systems with heavy batteries (4xAA or more) are usually designed so that the light emitter is positioned near the front of the head, with the battery compartment at the rear of the head. The headlamp is strapped to the head or helmet with an elasticized strap. It is sometimes possible to completely disconnect a headlamp's battery pack, for storage on a belt or in a pocket. Lighter headlamp systems are strapped to the user's head by a single band; heavier ones utilize an additional band over the top of the user's head. White

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

s were quickly adopted for use in headlamps due to their smaller size, lower power consumption and improved durability compared with incandescent bulbs. Andrew Skurka, '' The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide: Tools and Techniques to Hit the Trail'', National Geographic Books, 2012, pp. 166-169 Power LEDs rated 1 watt or more have displaced incandescent bulbs in many models of headlamps. To avoid damage to electronic parts, a

heatsink A heat sink (also commonly spelled heatsink) is a passive heat exchanger that transfers the heat generated by an electronic or a mechanical device to a fluid medium, often air or a liquid coolant, where it is dissipated away from the device, th ...

is usually required for headlamps that use LEDs that dissipate more than 1W. To regulate power fed to the LEDs, DC-DC converters are often used, sometimes controlled by

microprocessor A microprocessor is a computer processor where the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit, or a small number of integrated circuits. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, and control circu ...

s. This allows the LED(s) to provide brightness that is not affected by a drop in battery

voltage Voltage, also known as electric pressure, electric tension, or (electric) potential difference, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a static electric field, it corresponds to the work needed per unit of charge to m ...

, and allows selectable levels of output. Following the introduction of LEDs for headlamps, sometimes combinations of LED and halogen lamps were used, allowing the user to select between the types for various tasks.

History

Carbide lamp Carbide lamps, or acetylene gas lamps, are simple lamps that produce and burn acetylene (C2H2) which is created by the reaction of calcium carbide (CaC2) with water (H2O). Acetylene gas lamps were used to illuminate buildings, as lighthouse b ...

s were developed around 1900, and remained in use even as electric lamps appeared, because of poor battery life of the latter designs. The advent of high-efficiency LED lamps eventually displaced incandescent or combustion lamps.

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

developed electric cap lamps for miners starting in 1914; by 1915, certain cap lamps were approved by the

United States Bureau of Mines For most of the 20th century, the United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) was the primary United States government agency conducting scientific research and disseminating information on the extraction, processing, use, and conservation of mineral ...

for safe use in gassy coal mines. These included features such as spring-loaded contacts to automatically disconnect broken bulbs. These lamps consisted of a reflector and incandescent lamp and a separate belt-mounted wet-cell storage battery. The battery was sized to power the lamp for the entire working shift. After 12 hours a 1917-era miner's lamp produced less than one candlepower and about 2 to 5 total lumens. This pattern became popular for similar lamps. Head lamps approved for use in coal mines are designed not to allow an internal spark to ignite flammable gas surrounding the headlamp. Pannlampa typ orientering

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Headlamp (Outdoor) Lighting

Description

History

See also

References