Redstone Lamp



A Redstone Lamp is a brownish (when off, and gold when on) block visually resembling Glowstone (due to its crafting materials) that gives off light as long as it is powered. While powered, they have a luminance of 15, one level higher than a torch and the same light level as glowstone. They require constant input in order to emit light. Similarly to other light emitting blocks, they will melt snow and ice.

Behavior
Unlike glowstone, when a redstone lamp is broken it will not break into glowstone dust nor redstone dust. Instead it will yield one Redstone Lamp, just like a standard block. It should also be noted that the lamps have not yet been optimized, so a large number of blinking lights can cause FPS drops or even crashes.

Most of a redstone lamps's behavior is the same as for a standard opaque solid block:
 * Opaque, blocking all light.
 * Allows normal placement of attachable blocks (torches, levers, buttons, pumpkins, etc.).
 * Creates a redstone dust side-of-block link when redstone dust is placed both above and on the side of the block.
 * Cuts a redstone dust side-of-block link (and thus redstone power transmission) that existed between two redstone wires, one on top a block and the other on the side of that block, when the redstone lamp is placed on top of the lower-level dust.
 * Becomes weakly powered when placed adjacent to powered redstone wire, propagating redstone power to redstone components but not to other redstone wire.
 * Becomes strongly powered when connected to a powered redstone power source or any powered transmission component (other than redstone wire), propagating redstone power to both redstone components and redstone wires.
 * Stays unpowered when placed adjacent to any powered standard opaque solid block (including another redstone lamp).

However, there are two notable exceptions to the above:
 * Despite being an opaque block, an activated redstone lamp allows sky light transmission to go through it (but diffused, reducing its light level by 1).
 * When placed adjacent to a powered solid block (including a powered redstone lamp), despite staying unpowered (and thus not propagating redstone power), a Redstone Lamp block still counts as a redstone mechanism component, and thus will activate and light up.

A redstone lamp activates normally, but takes 2 ticks to deactivate.

Uses
Redstone lamps can be used as an attractive and functional light source. Where the lamps are hooked up to a switch, caution should be used when leaving a room with the lamps off, as mobs will likely spawn in the unlit room. This can be used to the player's advantage; in a trap based on a monster spawner, for example, redstone lamps on a switch can be activated to raise the light level and temporarily prevent mobs from spawning. Similarly, lamps could be turned off to allow growing huge mushrooms, then on again to avoid mob spawning.

Redstone lamps can also be used to create a redstone display as an alternative for redstone torches, which do not emit much light. The player creating such a display however should be aware that each "pixel" is a small cross making straight lines impossible. This can be corrected by making the screen 2 blocks (of any redstone conducting block) thick. Then add levers or some other activator on one side of the display. On the opposite side, only one pixel will be displayed.

Alternatively: to make a solid wall of square 2*2 pixels, this arrangement can be used. The redstone wires exit the back every second horizontal and vertical square, meaning that they can be individually controlled.

A system of redstone lamps wired to a daylight sensor with an inverted signal can be used to illuminate a structure at night automatically. A half day clock can also be used as long as the clock is synchronized properly to spawning light levels of mobs.

Because mobs can spawn on unlit lamps it makes them a great way to make a mob killing system because you can control when you want the mobs to spawn by having the lights on or off. You can also hook up a bunch of lamps to a line of repeaters to make a timed light.

Redstone lamps may also be used for automated mushroom farming, since a mushroom will "pop" if the light level becomes too high.

Lanterns
Before Redstone lamps, Notch wanted to implement an item called the Lantern, but the idea was scrapped and only later reemerged as the Redstone Lamp; however, several differences exist between the two.

With the addition of the lantern, torches would flicker out and need to be re-lit with flint and steel. The lantern would serve as a permanent source of light. According to Notch, when the update would occur, all torches placed on the map, in the inventory, and in chests prior to the update would be converted to lanterns. To do this, the lanterns would use the (former) block ID of torches along with a re-skin.

The glowstone introduced in the Halloween Update was a potential item requirement to craft lanterns, as it has the greatest luminance as a raw material. This would also make lanterns relatively inaccessible and a risky item to get, as has been hinted at by Notch. A second potential item that might have been required to create lanterns was Netherrack, a block that never burns out while lit. Glowstone can be obtained by trading with villagers, and can also be obtained by going to the The Nether, along with netherrack.

Trivia

 * In Notch's Ludum Dare 22 contest entry, Minicraft, lanterns can be made in the crafting table.
 * If you set the redstone lamp on a timer so it turns on and off and you shoot an arrow at the top or side, the arrow will vibrate while making the sound of the arrow sticking to a block.
 * Although it makes the sound of glass (like glowstone and glass pane) when broken, it acts like a solid block.
 * Placing a redstone torch anywhere adjacent to the lamp, other than on the lamp itself, will power it.
 * Pressure plates, buttons, and levers can all be placed on top of it or next to it, giving it power.
 * Unlike redstone torches, rapidly turning lamps on and off will not burn them out.
 * Just like TNT, you can have a block above a redstone lamp, and a pressure plate on that, and the lamp will light if the plate is stepped on. This can be an effective warning method.
 * Placing one unlit redstone lamp anywhere beside a lit redstone lamp, that is powered directly, will cause the unlit redstone lamp to become lit. (This only happens because the redstone lamp transmits power to the second one.)
 * Redstone lamps can be powered by detector rails, making them an interesting material to use for rollercoasters and lighthouses.
 * Placing an on-state redstone lamp will cause it to deactivate due to the lack of redstone powering the lamp.
 * In the Xbox 360 Edition, it is possible to make an RS NOR latch with a redstone lamp. Whether or not this is a bug is currently unknown. First, place the redstone lamp and place two redstone dust connecting to it. Then, on the opposite side of the dust, place a repeater directing into the lamp and connect it to a redstone torch. Then, destroy the repeater. The lamp should still be on, along with the wiring from the lamp.