Redstone Torch
A redstone torch is a constant power source that also works as a signal inverter (NOT gate). It outputs power level 15 when lit, and switches off when the block it is attached to becomes strongly powered.
What does a redstone torch do?
A redstone torch is two things at once: a permanent power source and an inverter. On its own it glows and outputs a full signal — power level 15 — into the block it sits on and the components beside it. But the moment the block it is attached to receives strong power, the torch burns out and goes dark. That on→off flip is what makes it the simplest NOT gate in redstone: power in, no power out.
Because it inverts, the torch is the building block behind almost every logic gate. Chain a few together and you have AND, OR, and memory cells.
How does the inverter work?
Place a solid block, put a lever on one face and a torch on the opposite face. With the lever off, the block is unpowered, so the torch stays lit and powers the dust in front of it. Flip the lever on and it strongly powers the block; the attached torch detects that and switches off. The output is the opposite of the input — a NOT gate.
Note the torch never powers the block it is attached to (that would be a contradiction). It powers everything else adjacent, plus the block directly above it.
Key facts
- Outputs power level
15in every direction except into its own attachment block. - Strongly powers the block directly above it (this is how torch towers carry signal upward).
- Turns off when its attachment block receives strong power; weak power from dust does not affect it.
- Has a 2 game-tick (1 redstone-tick) delay before flipping state.
- Can be placed on the floor (points up), on a wall (points sideways), but never hanging from a ceiling.
Bedrock vs. Java: the strong-power rule
In Bedrock Edition, a redstone torch only switches off when its attachment block gets strong power — from a lever, button, repeater, or another torch above. Weak power, like redstone dust running onto the block, is absorbed and does not flip the torch. This is a frequent source of “why won’t my circuit work” confusion, and it is exactly how this simulator behaves.
What is torch burnout?
If a torch is forced to switch on and off too rapidly — more than 8 times within 60 game ticks (about 3 seconds), as happens in a tight feedback loop — it “burns out,” emits a puff of smoke, and goes dark until the rate settles and a block update wakes it again. Fast clocks built from a single torch loop will burn out; this is why practical clocks use repeater or observer loops instead.