Torch

Torches are blocks that emit light. When placed on a suitable surface, it adjusts its model in relation to how it is placed on a block, so that it can be made to attach to any side of a block except the bottom side.

From just one block of wood and eight pieces of coal or charcoal, 32 torches can be made, making them an easily obtainable item. Since the Adventure Update, torches have warmer light when placed. They can also be found naturally in Abandoned Mine Shafts, Strongholds and NPC Villages.

Properties


Torches act as a full block, for the purpose of placing other objects or torches in the same area. Being treated as a block by sand and gravel this prevents them from falling down past a block with a torch on it. Instead, sand and gravel break when they fall on a torch. If they are placed directly above a torch they act as if they were on any other solid material, allowing them to be used as environmental triggers, such as airlocks. To the player, torches act as non-solid blocks, allowing players to pass through torches and place them whilst clipping into the torch. Torches also melt nearby snow and ice, making them useful to keep skylights from being snowed over and lakes from freezing in snow biomes. The torches will however only melt snow and ice from a radius of 2 blocks from the torch. The smoke from a torch extends up 2½ blocks.

When a torch is placed in water, it will be detached, as if you had destroyed it. The block it was placed in will have no water in it afterwards, unless two adjacent water sources cause a third to be created. This can also be used to regain air while underwater.

Torch placement
'' * Torches may be placed on the sides of openable blocks such as chests by holding shift and right-clicking on the block.

'' ** Torches may only be placed on the top of fences or glass, not on the sides.

Trivia

 * Notch announced that torches would become temporary light sources that would eventually go out. They would need to be relit with flint and steel. The permanent torch would be replaced with lanterns, and all torches that exist already in saved games whether placed, stored or in inventory would become lanterns. This was supposed to take effect on October, 31st 2010 with the Halloween Update, but it does not appear this will be the case anymore.
 * If you jump on a placed torch, you will hear a sound of stepping on a wooden block. This is only the sound effect however, so you will not actually stand on it. You must also be moving in a horizontal direction as well, so running and jumping on them is the way to check it.
 * It would take 1.26018466 × 10 torches to light the entire surface of a minecraft map. It would take approximately double that number to cover everything in a minecraft map, caves and all, counting the 12 million blocks as the edge of the map.
 * If a block falls onto a torch (sand or gravel), it breaks the block and gives the player the resource, but the gravel will not drop flint. However, if the torch is placed quickly enough after removing the base of a stack of falling blocks, the stack remains in place.
 * Because torches emit a light level of 14 and hostile mobs require a light level of 7 or less to spawn, separating them by up to 12 blocks will prevent hostile mobs from spawning. Light does not travel diagonally (see: Taxicab Geometry), so a torch at point (0,0,0) will supply a light level of 8 to point (3,2,1).
 * Torches, interestingly, are created when the Ender Dragon is defeated.
 * Breaking a torch with any tool does not decrease its Item durability.
 * It appears that torches flicker when placed, possibly to simulate real-life properties of a torch.