NightStar FAQs - Why is the housing made from plastic?

Most importantly, any type of metallic housing will prevent the charging magnet from moving effectively through the coil. This is due to free electron eddy currents being set up in the metal housing when the charging magnet travels through the barrel. Consequently, magnetic fields generated by the eddy currents in the housing oppose the magnetic field of the charging magnet. The faster the charging magnet tries to move, the stronger the opposing fields will be in the housing. Therefore, the charging magnet will never pass through the coil with enough speed to charge the energy storage capacitor. The plastic housing is superior to a metal housing in several other ways as well.

The material and manufacturing costs of plastic are far less expensive then aluminum (aluminum is a likely choice for a metal housing). Additionally, NightStar's plastic housing will never rust or oxidize and weighs less then an aluminum housing that would provide the same amount of crush resistance. The plastic used in NightStar is an alloy of polycarbonate and ABS (Clear NightStar however, is made of pure polycarbonate; polycarbonate/ABS is not available in clear).

Polycarbonate/ABS was chosen for two reasons: First, it is difficult to break even at cold temperatures; and second, it is unaffected by salt water, mild acids, alcohol, methanol, and ammonia based cleaners and is corrosion resistant when briefly exposed to petroleum products such as gasoline, oil and grease. Clear NightStars are not as chemical-resistant against petroleum products but have slightly higher impact strength.

More Frequently Asked Questions:

• Who invented the shake flashlight?

• How does the switch work?

• Why do NightStar, NightStar CS and NightStar RS require different amounts of shaking?

• What are the magnets made of and how are they magnetized?

• Can light output be made brighter by replacing the StarCore® LED with an incandescent bulb?

• Can batteries be included in the design to allow for a longer, brighter light output?

• Is a pacemaker sensitive to the magnetic field that surrounds NightStar?

• Can adding more LEDs increase the light output?

• How is the charging magnet reflected at either end of the flashlight?

• Why was a lens chosen for the output window?

• Why doesn't NightStar interfere with night vision?

• Why is the housing made from plastic?