Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: 17 May 91 19:38:21 GMT From: mike spann Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Use in Aircraft Reply-To: Mike Spann Message-ID: Organization: gammafax Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 368, Message 2 of 7 Lines: 39 In article bluemoon!sbrack@cis.ohio- state.edu (Steven S. Brack) writes: > In all seriousness: can a cellphone trigger explosives? It > seems that a radiodetonator would need to be very selective > about what signals trigger it. > [Moderator's Note: They are very selective about signals, however a > very close radio signal often times can overwhelm receivers in the > area, overloading them with the signal from the nearby unit. I've > never heard of a cell phone (or any radio) causing an explosion like > this, but I guess it is possible. PAT] Digging way back into my memory, I do remember a story (maybe even true) where police officers were told not to dump their spare bullets into the same bag as their hand held radios. The story I was told was that should the push-to-talk button be pressed, the electro-magnetic waves could cause a round to go off. When pressed to explain, their technical expert said that the oxides between the primer and the case could act as a rectifier at 150 MHz, and convert some of the five watts of radio energy into a DC voltage. Supposedly, this DC voltage could set off the primer and therefore the bullet. I thought this was a flimsy excuse, but it seemed to be accepted by all the experts who were trying to figure out why some cop accidently shot himself. I am not sure what this has to do with Telecom other than side effects of seemingly harmless acts are often difficult to fully comprehend. Michael Spann mikes@gammalink.com Voice: +1-408-744-1430 Fax: +1-408-744-1549 UUCP: ...!uunet!gammafax!mikes CIS: 73747,441