Deactivating torches sequentially allows for vertical redstone transmission. Redstone dust can only climb slopes if the blocks stair-step cleanly, demanding a wide footprint. A vertical torch tower, by contrast, moves signals straight upward through a 1x1 vertical shaft.
To construct a torch tower:
- Place a solid block with a redstone torch on top.
- Position another solid block directly above that torch.
- Place a second torch on top of that upper block.
- Continue alternating blocks and torches vertically.
Because each lit torch powers the solid block sitting right above it, the second torch turns off. That unpowered second block allows the third torch to turn on. The state flips on every floor. When you feed power into the lowest base block, the bottom torch turns off, prompting an alternating wave of state changes that shoots up the tower at a speed of 1 redstone tick per level.
This exact inversion behavior also underpins the NOR gate circuit. By attaching multiple redstone torches to the sides of several input blocks and wiring their outputs into a single consolidated line, activating any single input deactivates its respective torch. This logic gate forms the bedrock of multi-button security vaults, storage indicator lights, and train routing switches.
