carl@aoa.UUCP (Carl Witthoft) (01/02/86)
Newsgroups: net.analog Subject:Re: nuclear event detector Expires: References: Sender: Reply-To: carl@aoa.UUCP (Carl Witthoft) Followup-To: Distribution: net Organization: Adaptive Optics Associates, Cambridge, Mass. USA Keywords: In article <799@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) writes: >I have gotten two ads in the mail so far for a product I find very >strange. At first, I wondered if this was some kind of elaborate joke >or hoax, but the product brochures are professionally done, utterly >serious in tone, and seem to be completely legitimate. Yet, either I >just have no concept of the engineering behind the product, or the thing >really is completely incomprehensible. > >It is nothing much to look at -- a circuit in a multi-pin (round pin) >package, and it is called the HSN-3000 High Speed Hybrid Nuclear Event >Detector. The first brochure I got was titled "Certified Circumvention >for Power Shutdown", and the second, largely similar, is titled, >"Certified Circumvention for Processor Shutdown/Restart". The company No hoax. I developed just such a detector at company X a number of years ago for sale to a militrary computer company ( company Y ) . The device is basically just a big PIN diode which becomes conductive when hit by a pile of EMP radiation ( that's Electromagnetic Pulse for you non- warmongers), thus sending a warning signal. The device is generally ruined by this pulse, as the conductivity is created by barfing out the junction. In theory, this detector picksup the lead edge of the EMP and allows one to turn off the computers and memory before the main pulse can wipe all the memory clean. I have no idea how well it actually works. Darwin's Dad ( Carl Witthoft @ Adaptive Optics Associates) {decvax,linus,ihnp4,ima,wjh12,wanginst}!bbncca!aoa!carl 54 CambridgePark Drive, Cambridge,MA 02140 617-864-0201x356 "Selmer MarkVI, Otto Link 5*, and VanDoren Java Cut."