2006-09-21 10:20:08 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
If you shine a small flashlight in the direction of the moon in clear weather, most of the photons emitted by that flashlight will get to the moon. Someone with a really big telescope (10 km across) on the moon could see the flash from your flashlight.
If you want the photons to bounce off the moon and back to your eyes, you're going to need a bigger flashlight.
2006-09-21 10:35:25 · answer #1 · answered by cosmo 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Cosmos has got it. Some photons will get there regardless of the strength of your flashlight (Americans don't call it a torch).
So, it really depends what you want to do. If you wanted to light up the dark bit when the moon is crescent, you might need something gargantuan.
If you can get to see the thin crescent moon from a really dark place, you can often see the dark bit of the moon just glowing very faintly. I live rurally and often see this. It is actually sunlight reflected off the Earth and back to the moon.
The point is this is a massive amount of light by human standards reaching the moon via the Earth. If that is only just visible to us, and most people who live in cities have never seen it, just think what power you would need in your flashlight to enable you to see it shining on the moon's surface.
2006-09-21 10:52:41 · answer #2 · answered by nick s 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
2 AA batteries would do. The point is because you would get no reflected light back, you wont know that your beam(although not much of it) is actually on the moon. This is something that needs to be checked. Mainly by going to the moon.
2006-09-21 10:33:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
think you'd be looking at running it from a nuclear power station rather than a battery, the bulb would have to be huge too as the filament would be huge to take that power without melting "aka blowing the bulb"
2006-09-21 10:29:49 · answer #4 · answered by Jiggy_O 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Military Grade Tactical Flashlight - http://FlashLight.uzaev.com/?VupP
2016-07-11 04:04:53 · answer #5 · answered by Allison 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At least an AA battery
2006-09-21 23:13:10 · answer #6 · answered by joe king 02 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
N.A.S.A has bounced a laser off a special mirror on the moon.
2006-09-21 12:42:26 · answer #7 · answered by JOHNNIE B 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i could no longer confirm the thank you to re-fill them, so I had to purchase yet another, and yet another. i ultimately discovered the thank you to re-fill them, and theory that i could desire to apply those as back up. :] it extremely is rather mind-blowing which you would be able to have a million/2 dozen butane torches.
2016-10-17 10:04:32 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would have to be a laser of some sort I think. That's how they measure distances to the moon.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=98111&page=1
2006-09-21 10:23:52 · answer #9 · answered by THJE 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the same strenght i would have to be to go from the moon to the earth...
batteries? i would suggest a nuclear power plant...
2006-09-21 10:29:53 · answer #10 · answered by fbianchi70 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋