Re: [math-fun] There are other kinds of corner reflector?
Have you ever put metal into a microwave? Back in the 1950's, some of the soldiers stationed on the "DEW Line" kept themselves warm by standing in front of the radars. Bad idea, but Raytheon then converted the idea into the microwave oven... (One of my first jobs was helping the Public Health Service find leaking microwave ovens which caused eye cataracts in restaurants where they were used.) -----Original Message-----
From: Mike Stay <metaweta@gmail.com> Sent: Jan 2, 2020 2:21 PM To: math-fun <math-fun@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [math-fun] There are other kinds of corner reflector?
On Thu, Jan 2, 2020 at 3:04 PM Bill Gosper <billgosper@gmail.com> wrote:
loud. In the 60s, I worked at a naval air station where a visiting photographer was severely burned when all the flashbulbs <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Brownie_Hawkeye_with_Flash.jpg> went off in his pockets. (That sparkly stuff is "magnesium wool"!))
The radar caused the flashes to go off? Wow!
I'm not quite old enough to remember single-flash bulbs, though they must have still been in use when I was a kid, but I do remember flashcubes: https://tinyurl.com/rldhhgv -- Mike Stay - metaweta@gmail.com http://math.ucr.edu/~mike https://reperiendi.wordpress.com
On Sat, Jan 4, 2020 at 7:22 AM hbaker1 <hbaker1@pipeline.com> wrote:
Have you ever put metal into a microwave?
Sure, but that's a small sealed metal box. Was he standing directly in front of the radar emitter?
Back in the 1950's, some of the soldiers stationed on the "DEW Line" kept themselves warm by standing in front of the radars. Bad idea, but Raytheon then converted the idea into the microwave oven...
Reminds me of this old hoax from 20 years ago: http://www.nmsr.org/darwiner.htm
(One of my first jobs was helping the Public Health Service find leaking microwave ovens which caused eye cataracts in restaurants where they were used.)
Yikes! Also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peryton_(astronomy) -- Mike Stay - metaweta@gmail.com http://math.ucr.edu/~mike https://reperiendi.wordpress.com
On 1/4/2020 9:17 AM, Mike Stay wrote:
On Sat, Jan 4, 2020 at 7:22 AM hbaker1 <hbaker1@pipeline.com> wrote:
Have you ever put metal into a microwave? Sure, but that's a small sealed metal box. Was he standing directly in front of the radar emitter?
Back in the 1950's, some of the soldiers stationed on the "DEW Line" kept themselves warm by standing in front of the radars. Bad idea, but Raytheon then converted the idea into the microwave oven...
There was a Chief Petty Officer on a carrier that ported at Subic Bay who would charge sailors returning from shore leave $10 to stand in front of one of the ships radars and be "disinfected" from STD's. Fortunately he was smart enough never to actually turn on the radar. Brent
Reminds me of this old hoax from 20 years ago: http://www.nmsr.org/darwiner.htm
(One of my first jobs was helping the Public Health Service find leaking microwave ovens which caused eye cataracts in restaurants where they were used.) Yikes!
Here's a picture taken by a guy holding a flashbulb and walking towards a radar dish. It's a couple of feet away. No info on how much power the radar was using. https://books.google.com/books?id=pWAzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA138&lpg=PA138&dq=radar+i... Here are power ratings for different kinds of radar and the hazards they pose: https://www.who.int/peh-emf/publications/facts/fs226/en/ Apparently the danger of radar beams either heating metal hot enough to ignite fuel vapors or to cause sparking is large enough that there are regulations about it: https://books.google.com/books?id=yv1Zz_CGhU8C&pg=SA2-PA14&lpg=SA2-PA14&dq=r... On Sat, Jan 4, 2020 at 10:17 AM Mike Stay <metaweta@gmail.com> wrote:
On Sat, Jan 4, 2020 at 7:22 AM hbaker1 <hbaker1@pipeline.com> wrote:
Have you ever put metal into a microwave?
Sure, but that's a small sealed metal box. Was he standing directly in front of the radar emitter?
Back in the 1950's, some of the soldiers stationed on the "DEW Line" kept themselves warm by standing in front of the radars. Bad idea, but Raytheon then converted the idea into the microwave oven...
Reminds me of this old hoax from 20 years ago: http://www.nmsr.org/darwiner.htm
(One of my first jobs was helping the Public Health Service find leaking microwave ovens which caused eye cataracts in restaurants where they were used.)
Yikes!
Also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peryton_(astronomy) -- Mike Stay - metaweta@gmail.com http://math.ucr.edu/~mike https://reperiendi.wordpress.com
-- Mike Stay - metaweta@gmail.com http://math.ucr.edu/~mike https://reperiendi.wordpress.com
participants (3)
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Brent Meeker -
hbaker1 -
Mike Stay