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How a car cigarette lighter works, in CT scans


Explore the engineering of a car cigarette lighter through industrial CT scans, revealing an efficient analog design that operates without digital components.

The current is forced through the high-resistance coil due to a tiny gap insulated by a strip of paper, preventing it from taking a shorter path. This entirely analog device, developed in the 1950s, showcases the ingenuity of efficient, low-cost design, capable of being manufactured by the millions without any digital control. If you’d like to learn more about industrial X-ray CT technology and how engineers use it to improve everything from running shoes to medical devices, check out our introductory video or reach out to our team.

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