Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: NeXT FACTS (Magnesium case)
Message-ID: <1988Oct28.205704.29306@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <23336@sri-unix.SRI.COM> <1988Oct25.190655.10391@utzoo.uucp> <607@optilink.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 88 20:57:04 GMT

In article <607@optilink.UUCP> cramer@optilink.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) writes:
>> >... The main unit's cubic housing is made of lightweight magnesium...
>> That's gonna be fun if you ever have a power-supply fire!
>... some friends of mine and I attached a chunk of magnesium
>ribbon to an 8' hydrogen-filled weather balloon (young, foolish, and
>lucky to be alive) and attempted to light the ribbon.  We made repeated
>efforts, and it just would not light...

Gee, maybe you weren't using the right ignition method.  I never had any
trouble!  Sure you had magnesium, not something like aluminum?

Moreover, an electrical fire is *hot*.  Ever wonder why DEC stopped putting
those cute Plexiglas covers on their power supplies?  Plexiglas will burn!
-- 
The dream *IS* alive...         |    Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
but not at NASA.                |uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu