There are many kinds of catalytic lighters. Simply put, they all use the catalytic action of platinum and alcohol (methanol) to work. They have been produced in various guises using fine platinum shavings in a steel-wool-like mesh, a small ball of platinum, platinum wires, etc. For our purposes here, Catalytic Lighters are defined to mean the tube style such as New Method and Ray-O-Lite.

The catalytic process discovered by Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner circa 1823.