Editing Lighter (section)

{{Short description|Handheld device used to generate a flame}}
{{About||the vessel|Lighter (barge)|other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
[[File:White lighter with flame.JPG|thumb|An ignited lighter]]
[[File:CreativeTools.se - PackshotCreator - Blå tändare (5077886065) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Disposable lighter]]
A '''lighter''' is a portable device which uses mechanical or electrical means to create a controlled [[flame]], and can be used to ignite a variety of flammable items, such as [[cigarettes]],  [[butane gas]], [[fireworks]], [[candles]], or [[campfire]]s. A lighter typically consists of a metal or [[plastic container]] filled with a flammable liquid, a compressed flammable gas, or in rarer cases a flammable solid (e.g. rope in a trench lighter); a means of [[Combustion|ignition]] to produce the flame; and some provision for extinguishing the flame or else controlling it to such a degree that users may extinguish it with their breath.  Alternatively, a lighter can be one that uses electricity to create an [[electric arc]] using the created [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]] as the source of ignition or a [[heating element]] can be used in a similar vein to heat the target to its ignition temperatures, as first formally used by [[Friedrich Wilhelm Schindler]] to light cigars and now more commonly seen incorporated into the [[automobile auxiliary power outlet]] to ignite the target material. Different lighter fuels have different characteristics, which is the main influence behind the creation and purchasing of a variety of lighter types.