Comment by na85
7 years ago
The idea that some terrorists are plotting to ruin our phones with helium, and that we should consider it "catastrophic" is laughable.
7 years ago
The idea that some terrorists are plotting to ruin our phones with helium, and that we should consider it "catastrophic" is laughable.
Scaling a "helium attack" against electronics is one of the dumber terrorist plots I've come across. But let's play.
Say I scored a big truckload of helium, 5000 l. (The contents of my tank will expand to 3750 m3 of He gas.) Then I got access to a ventilation duct into the subway. I manage to hook up my tank and start depleting into the subway. Assuming 20 m2 cross-section for a tunnel: if I could do the emptying at once, I could fill 0.187 km of tunnel completely with He; killing all vermin in that section.
But hey my goal is not to suffocate (that would be boring, right?) but to fritz electronics. So I do it slow and steady into a station. Say I want to keep the concentration of He in the station at around 0.1%. (I assume it would take time for operators to detect this. I don't know how sophisticated gas detection is in subways.) Let's assume an airflow of 5 m3/s into that station. I'd need 0.005 m3/s He or 400 m3 per day to keep the level at 0.1%. So for only one day, I'd need to get around 500 l liquid helium into position.
There are easier pranks to play.
If you are a terrorist, why not get a big truckload of fertilizer? Easier and actually kills people instead of just wrecking their apple devices.
Or if you are some kind of compressed gas terrorist, 5000L of compressed oxygen or acetylene will do a lot more damage than helium.
Anyone who can mount a helium attack can mount much more severe attacks.
I think the probability of some eccentric and well-supplied terrorists trying to ruin Apple devices with helium is so remote as to not be worthy of consideration.
Even if it does come to pass. Oh well, I'll buy another iphone, or an android.
The point of terrorism is to cause terror and to inspire parallel independent actors.
About 3000 people died on 9/11, but we acted like it was the next Pearl Harbor. These 3000 people died needlessly, and it sucks, and my heart goes out to the families who lost someone that day, but statistically was a tiny blip.
9/11, as an act of terrorism, was successful. We now can't get out of the Middle East, it caused a decade long economic depression that snowballed into the housing crash, it ruined our relations with other nations, and hating Muslims is the ordre du jour like it is 1099.
1 reply →
Lol you clearly underestimate some people, but I'm wondering what makes you think that even a frequency jammer in the wrong hands couldn't be potentially catastrophic?
>but I'm wondering what makes you think that even a frequency jammer in the wrong hands couldn't be potentially catastrophic?
It is, but only in the same sense that a van in the wrong hands could be potentially catastrophic.
Define "catastrophic" in the context of Apple devices ceasing to function.