Thomas wrote:
> Is there really any danger to the plane that a Newton can=20
> cause? The air line people always have said that they don't=20
> want the EM radiation to affect the interments the pilot=20
> uses. I for one don't believe that my Newton or a cd player=20
> for that matter could have an affect on a device that so far=20
> away (I can't afford first class) and shielded. Can anyone=20
> shed some light on this?
Most commercial aircraft have antennas scattered over the hull
in (seemingly) random places, with cables running from them up into the
cockpit. Some of these antenna are used for things like guiding the
plane to the runway in solid instrument conditions. If someone switched
on something that put out a bunch of EM noise, it could throw off this
stuff at a critical time.
That said, I doubt if anything like a Newton could do this. I
remember reading some specific cases where some badly shielded consumer
device messed up some badly wired and shielded instruments, but the
circumstances were odd. In any case, it's easier (and safer) for the
airline to just tell everyone to turn everything off during takeoff and
landing.
Jim Anderson
Evil Overlord Rule 134:
If I am escaping in a large truck and the hero is pursuing me in a small
Italian sports car, I will not wait for the hero to pull up along side
of me and try to force him off the road as he attempts to climb aboard.
Instead I will slam on the brakes when he's directly behind me. (A
rudimentary knowledge of physics can prove quite useful.)
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