Monday, June 20, 2011
Life can be interesting
Saturday, June 18, 2011
New report confirms fliers should switch off before taking off
All personal electronic devices emit radiation, with cellular phones sending particularly strong signals to allow them to communicate with towers.
If equipment isn't well shielded, the radiation can affect other electronic circuits (easily demonstrable by placing a cellphone on a call next to a speaker), and the highly sensitive equipment on board an aircraft is thought to be especially susceptible.
At takeoff and landing, when accurate instrumentation is critical to the flight crew, even a momentary inaccuracy could be fatal -- and although newer planes are extensively shielded to allow calls in flight, scientists have warned that older models may not be.
Boeing's Dave Carson told ABC News that mobile phones could disrupt instrument landing systems, demonstrating that while a BlackBerry and an iPhone both produced signals well over the limits Boeing considers acceptable, an iPad -- becoming more commonplace -- was the worst offender.
In March, Boeing revealed that new on-board WiFi systems had produced "blanking" of some cockpit equipment during routine installation testing, prompting it to halt installations until the problem was rectified.
