No, they don’t. I found that you have to touch the lamp with skin (assuming you have no other objects) to set it off, and tests prove teeth don’t work either. I just thought I’d add my $0.02.
When my bedside ‘touch on’ lamp went flooey, the lamp fixer upper said that it was the warmth of the hand that turns it on, here, I thought that meant the lamp was much more interesting than I had originally thought! Oh well…
Padeye:
Nope. It was a theremin. I know this because (1) I’ve seen Jimmy use it on stage (2) It says so right in the album credits and (3) I saw an interview with Page where he talks about how he got the idea to use one and how difficult it was for him to control it at first…
handy:
Most of those use a simple light sensor - similar to Furbies.
Arjuna:
True - humans don’t affect inductance as much as an iron core, but they do have a measurable effect. There are sensors that operate on this principle.
True, but as I pointed out, you can increase the distance of non contact operation by accumulating greater charge on your person. Also, supporting my theory, if you touch one of these lamps after you’ve grounded yourself (i.e. you’ve depleted your charge) quite often the lamp won’t respond.