i have visited cave --improved ones like howe caverns (NY, in march of this year) and significantly less improved ones in various parts of pennsylvania
and i have visited mine musuems (in the actual mines, not above ground!) and visited old (colonial) iron mines (that dot NYstate--all this inspite of the fact that i am deadly afraid of the dark.
I'm not afraid of what passes for dark in NYC -even in the black out,there are car lights, lights powered by emergency generators (amazing how many of those there are!) and other light sourses. but real darkness.. (and underground caves are dark!)--so i know flashlights!
i always have a working flashlight (i check the batteries frequently) in my purse. and one in my car.. and 1 in every room of my apartment (bathroom, foyer and terrace included!)
at this point, some are color coordinated.. there is a perfectly matched purple flashlight in my foyer, and a blue one in dining room, and a bright yellow and black one in computer room (the walls are yellow there, but much of the electronic equipment (table lamp, shredder) is black or dark grey(computer/printer)--other rooms have more or less matching ones too, (the bathroom has a white one, my bedroom a blue one...)
some are the kind that have crummy bulbs, and take D cells, most are mag lights (or mini mags)-(and i have spare bulbs in the base of all of them!)
One of these days, i'll go back to having a super mini (1 AAA size battery to power) flashlight on my key ring.
most flashlights are powered direct current (batteries!) not on alternating current) and since most digital (computers, etal) equipment also runs on direct current it think i would call most flashlights digital. they are on or off, and while maglights do allow you to focus the beam, you can't, on them, or most flashlights adjust the light.(with a dial--a feature of analog equipment.
