Why you should turn off electronic devices on an airplane. Myths about why you should turn off your computer

The question of whether to turn off your computer during a thunderstorm arises quite often during summer thunderstorms. Users' opinions vary greatly, as some believe that a power surge can cause the computer to burn out. On the other side, modern technologies guarantee the safety of equipment even in such weather. It is quite easy to understand whether you can use your computer during a thunderstorm.

Why is it common for people to turn off equipment during a thunderstorm?

Those who grew up with their grandparents are well aware of the situation when, at the first sounds of a thunderstorm, all equipment was turned off and the plug of the device was removed from the socket. And this was completely justified, since devices of previous years did not have any protection against thunderstorms and resulting power surges. This is what could lead to the burnout of household appliances.

But whether a computer can burn out from a thunderstorm is a very controversial issue today. After all, the technology of the present time has good protection in case of voltage surges. However, the question of whether you should turn off your computer during a thunderstorm can hardly be answered in the negative.

Reasons for this situation

When a thunderstorm begins, a potential difference of several billion volts appears between the clouds and the surface of the earth. When the value reaches its peak, a discharge occurs. Available lightning protection systems reduce the chance of a direct lightning strike on electrical wiring, but do not eliminate it. When such a situation arises, everyone electrical devices within reach will burn.

In what cases is there a high chance of equipment burning out?

Often the cause of such an incident is induced voltage. And the longer the wire and the discharge power, the higher the likelihood of such a situation. When triggered, an electrical impulse of thousands of volts occurs, lasting from units to thousands of microseconds. The distribution reaches several kilometers.

Which networks are at risk?

Often, such situations are typical for Internet networks in residential areas, since they are often not designed in any way and can be laid anywhere. Therefore, they are more vulnerable (there are cases of laying Internet cables around a lightning rod). At best they will suffer network cards, routers, switches and other network devices. In the case of an extremely powerful charge, the entire computer with hard drive and monitor can burn out.

• Install an external network card on your computer. It should be used even despite the presence of an integrated element. When a discharge hits external device the matter is often limited only to the loss of the network card. If it hits an integrated device, there is a risk of failure of the entire motherboard.
• Install a lightning protection filter. This is required for internet and telephone lines.
• Set the block for uninterruptible power supply with a function to smooth out incoming voltage surges. This will be useful to users personal computers, since the voltage in the electrical network can jump during normal times.
• Equip your home with a voltage stabilizer and grounding.
• Turn off your device during thunderstorms. Disconnect the computer and monitor from the network, remove the Internet cable from the network card, switch or router. Then turn off other electrical appliances such as televisions, washing machines, microwaves and other things. Such actions will help with small voltage surges.
• In case of strong and rapid power surges, the automation may not work. The discharge will burn all devices connected to the power supply.
• Turn off existing electrical appliances when you are away from home for a long time. This should be done for those who leave home for weeks or more.

What should laptop users do?

In the case of laptops, the situation is much simpler. Simply unplug the device from the outlet and continue working quietly (if the battery charge allows). However, if the device is connected to local network or a cable modem, then the consequences will be the same as if a lightning strikes a transformer, and whether it is necessary to turn off the computer during a thunderstorm, in this case it is quite clear.

Where is the likelihood of a computer burning higher?

This topic is especially relevant for residents of old apartment buildings, since many of them do not have a protective grounding loop, which should be provided for in the project. It is often destroyed during roof repairs.

In the case of modern multi-apartment dwellings, there is a chance of equipment failure due to lightning, but it is not as great as in the previous example.

In the case of a private house, especially one powered by a pole, the chance of a breakdown is close to 100%. A large impulse is induced on open wiring, and there are no special protective devices against impulse overvoltages. Good network filters and UPSs are equipped with them. In this case, the more protective stages, the better, although even in this case you need to turn off the computer during a thunderstorm.

Connecting to the Internet poses a particular risk. It is usually performed through a cable with copper conductors, which are easy to pulse. To reduce loss during thunderstorms, you should also disconnect the network wire from the network computer card. In the case of a laptop, this is necessary, since repairs will be very expensive, and the answer to the question of whether you need to turn off your computer during a thunderstorm is obvious. The best solution will be the purchase of a Wi-FI router due to the convenience and cheap replacement if it burns out during a thunderstorm.

The reasons listed above why a device may burn out during a thunderstorm make it clear whether you can use your computer during a thunderstorm. At the same time, the problem of combustion is relevant specifically for computers, and not laptops, which you can work with while disconnected from the power supply.

Many experts call wi-fi the “silent enemy.” Their main argument in defense of this point of view is based on the fact that the wi-fi router produces radiation.

New technologies have changed the world and expanded our options for communication, work, entertainment and almost any thing we can imagine. In particular, it plays a very important role in our lives. wireless Internet, which gives us access to many useful tools. Wi-fi has become an indispensable thing in our homes, at work, in educational institutions and other places where it is important to keep in touch with the outside world. Unfortunately, wireless internet has some disadvantages that most people are not aware of. In particular, it can negatively affect our health.

Why can Wi-Fi Internet technology be dangerous?

Although the media reports the dangers of radiation from cell phones and other electronic devices, many people ignore these warnings or are still not sufficiently aware.

This technology has been used by humans for several decades, but it actually takes much longer to understand how it affects the human body.

There have already been several scientific research, which analyzed the influence electromagnetic waves on brain activity and our life support system. There is reason to believe that wireless Internet and radiation from it can cause cancer and other serious diseases.

A public-domain report known as Bioinitiative claims that nearly 2,000 international studies have found a link between long-term exposure electromagnetic radiation on the body and the formation of tumors.

In addition, this radiation can cause ongoing headaches, migraines, hyperactivity and sleep disturbances.

People who work with this type of equipment must strictly follow the recommendation to reduce the impact of the negative effects of radiation on the body.

Anxiety increases due to exposure wifi signal for children, whose bodies are especially susceptible to damage because they are in the process of development.

With this in mind, countries such as the UK, France and Sweden have begun removing wi-fi routers from schools, museums, libraries and other public areas to reduce the impact of this technology on children's health.

How can you reduce the negative effect of using a wi-fi router?

To reduce the negative effect of exposure wi-fi router, you can do the following:

• Turn off the router at night or when no one is using it.
• If the router is in the kitchen or bedroom, try moving it to a less frequented location.
• Think about holding cable network, even telephone. Wireless Mobile Internet much more comfortable, but the effect of radiation causes a lot of harm to our health.
• Use mobile phones and computers only in certain time. Don't keep them in your room.
• Spend more time outdoors, do physical exercise and read books on paper, not in digital format.

Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to know for sure when we are exposed to radiation. In addition, electromagnetic pollution in the world is increasing by leaps and bounds, and we still do not know what its levels will be in a few years. In countries such as the USA and Japan, scientists are already trying to develop another type of technology that does not involve the use of electromagnetic waves. According to preliminary estimates, it took about 30 years to warn people about the impact these devices have on the human body.

Each of us can reduce the impact of harmful technologies on our bodies and the bodies of loved ones. We must be responsible and careful users of new technologies for our own safety. Remember that although wireless Internet is very convenient, it can be dangerous to our health. Find a balance! published

P.S. And remember, just by changing your consciousness, we are changing the world together! © econet

In the morning and evening, many of us are accustomed to turning on and off the computer. This takes a lot of time. At the same time, we do not turn off the mobile phone when we talk on it, but simply switch it to standby mode by turning off the display, and, if necessary, instantly restore its operation with one button. You can do the same with your computer, by refusing to turn it on and off every day.

Instead of turning off the power, you can simply put your computer into sleep or hibernation mode, which will significantly reduce the time it wakes up, which you spend waiting and launching applications every day. When using sleep operating system saves the system state in memory and enters the reduced energy consumption. Hibernation saves the system state to disk and completely shuts down the computer. Returning the system to working condition at the same time it is done quite quickly. There is also a hybrid mode, in which the system state is saved to disk, and the computer goes into a low-power mode. In short, these three methods can be described in tabular form as follows.

What are the advantages?

No need to wait

At complete shutdown and turning on the computer takes longer than when entering and recovering from sleep/hibernation mode. For example, turning on the computer can take from 1 to 10-15 minutes (depending on the number of programs in startup and the speed of your computer). When restoring your computer from sleep mode, it will only take 5 to 20 seconds!

No need to close working programs

When using sleep/hibernation mode, there is no need to close your running programs because when restored, all your applications will be running and in exactly the same state as you left them in when you switched to sleep/hibernation mode.

At simple shutdown you will need to close all programs and then open them again when you turn them on, which also takes time and effort.

Process automation

When using sleep mode, you can transfer some of the automatic processes to night time. For example, you can use the task scheduler to assign a creation time backup copies, disk defragmentation and a number of other important operations that take quite a lot of time. Thus, you will not spend a second of your time waiting for the completion of such operations, because they will be performed while you are resting.

This automation is possible if the “Allow wake timers” option is enabled in the power settings.

It may also be useful for automatic processes to set a sleep timer. This can be done in the same settings window by specifying the desired value for the “Sleep after” item.

How to activate sleep mode and hibernation?

For laptop

In the case of a laptop optimal solution will use sleep mode, which turns on when closing the laptop lid. The laptop is equipped with a battery and its consumption is very low. Because when frequent use this will be most convenient. At the same time, you will get almost instant system recovery after opening the laptop lid, which will allow you to get to work right away.

If you plan to stop working with your laptop for a long time, you can put it in hibernation mode and then it will not consume energy at all.
If the laptop's battery charge is critical and it is in sleep mode, the system will automatically put it into hibernation mode and completely turn off the power.

Your data will not be affected. After turning on, everything will be restored in the form in which you last left the computer.

To activate sleep mode when closing the laptop lid, go to “Control Panel” - “Power Options” and in the right side panel, select “Actions when closing the lid” and select the desired value.

For desktop computer

For desktop computer, which does not have a battery, you can also use sleep mode, but in this case you will have to keep it constantly connected to the network. You can also use hibernation or hybrid mode.

When using hybrid mode, the computer will be restored very quickly, and you will be able to start working almost immediately after pressing the power button (or you can configure the computer to turn on when you press any key on the keyboard or mouse, which is also convenient). If there is a power outage during hybrid mode, the computer's power will turn off, but system status data will remain on the disk even when next switch on everything will be restored.

To activate sleep mode when you press the power button on system unit, go to “Control Panel” - “Power Options” and in the right side panel, select “Actions of the power buttons” and select the desired value.

To activate hybrid sleep mode, open Control Panel - Power Options. Near the active item, click on the “Set up power plan” link.

In the tree window that appears, select “Sleep” and in it the “Allow hybrid sleep mode” item.

After saving your changes, Hybrid mode will be automatically activated when sleep mode is activated.

Conclusion

Using sleep and hibernation modes when working with a computer allows you to save a significant amount of time and start working almost immediately after opening the laptop lid or pressing the power button on your desktop computer. In this case, there is no need to launch working programs every time - after recovery from sleep/hibernation mode, all working applications are automatically restored. You can turn off or reboot your computer in this way only in extreme cases, when a reboot is necessary after installing updates or any software.

Do you turn off your computer every time? If yes, then why?

I have repeatedly heard people groan in response to the flight attendants’ request to turn off and remove all electronics during takeoff with remarks like “There’s nothing for you to do,” “Yes, that’s all stupidity,” and the like, and as an electronics engineer higher education, a technician for servicing aircraft instruments and electrical equipment by military education and a frequent flyer in life, I wanted to formulate and structure the arguments why phones and electronics still need to be turned off and put away.

Usually, the main reason for such requests to passengers is the argument that interference from portable household radio transmitters can interfere with the operation of on-board equipment, to which many not-so-smart passengers answer “yes, I forgot to turn off the phone a hundred times and even talked from the board, and everything was fine.” Fine". There is some truth in these statements, but not entirely.

1. Takeoff and landing are the most important and critical phases of flight, and the likelihood of a critical situation (sharp braking, bumpiness, etc.) occurring in them is maximum. When braking sharply, even a five-inch smartphone, if the owner does not hold it in his hand, turns into a quite good projectile with sufficient mass and speed to very painfully fly into the head of the person sitting in front, not to mention tablets and cameras. This is the first reason why people are asked to put everything in their pockets or carry-on luggage.

2. An ordinary 2G/3G/4G phone or tablet with Wi-Fi really does not pose a danger to the electronic equipment of the aircraft, but with some caveats: as long as they function properly. No one can guess in advance how reliable the circuitry of the radio module in a phone or tablet, carefully made by unknown Chinese, is, and how thoroughly its microcode has been tested. The electronics and signal circuits of modern aircraft are indeed duplicated many times for the purpose of fault tolerance and shielded from external influences, but when people’s lives are at stake, it is better not to check this again.

3. In addition to the direct impact on on-board electronics, it is also worth keeping in mind the effect of interference from telephones on voice radio communications. Used in aviation analog transmission voices for crew conversations with dispatchers and other aircraft. Interference from transmitting devices, accordingly, can create interference during negotiations, which in itself is no longer good.

4. And now a small example from life.

When investigating the crash of Ansett New Zealand flight 703 Auckland - Palmerston North on June 9, 1995, in which four passengers died, investigators considered as one of the theories that the use of mobile phone could have caused the on-board radio altimeter to malfunction immediately before the crash. An airplane during a visual approach to land at International airport Palmerston North collided with the slope of the Tararua Range 16 kilometers east of the airport in bad weather conditions. ()

Five years later, the HB-AKK of the Swiss airline Crossair crashed on 01/10/2000 in the vicinity of Dielsdorf (canton of Zurich). All passengers on board were killed. The causes of the accident and the death of the crew and passengers have not yet been fully revealed. However, the results of the “black box” study showed that at a certain point the aircraft’s navigation instruments and control systems began to produce incorrect data. Investigators interviewed operators cellular communications and found out that immediately before the crash an SMS was sent from the plane, followed by a call. Thus, the version of a failure in the aircraft’s control systems due to exposure to radio waves remains probable. ()

Everyone understands that aviation safety rules are “written in blood.” And, as you know, many aviation incidents do not occur for any one reason, but are caused by the coincidence of many factors, each of which would otherwise not lead to any consequences. If there is even the slightest chance of excluding something from a series of events that, even theoretically, could lead to a critical situation, this must be done to save people’s lives.

5. And lastly. Why are they asked to turn off not only phones, but also, for example, cameras, MP3 players, e-readers and other devices that do not have a radio module? Because many of them still have. Nowadays, no one can be surprised by an e-reader with a 3G modem, an audio player with WiFi (for synchronization music library), and a digital camera with Bluetooth (for wireless transmission to the printer). And even if your particular device does not have any of the above, the flight staff should not have to figure out what model someone has and what functionality it has. Not to mention the fact that non-technically savvy people may not even suspect that their gadget has WiFi and a cellular module. Therefore, there is a request to turn off or put absolutely all devices into airplane mode. As I already wrote in the previous paragraph, if there is even the slightest probability of excluding something from a series of events that, even theoretically, could lead to a critical situation, this must be done. In the end, it’s not at all difficult to live for some time without your favorite gadget for the sake of your own safety and the safety of other people.

Have a safe and successful flight!

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Before takeoff and shortly before the start of the descent, flight attendants ask passengers to translate electronic devices to airplane mode. However, not everyone follows the instructions, because many simply do not understand: how can their smartphone worth a couple of hundred dollars interfere with the operation of a high-tech aircraft worth tens of millions of dollars?

website invites you to figure out together why it is so important to follow this rule.

In airplane mode, all data transfer services (Wi-Fi, GSM, Bluetooth, etc.) are disabled in the gadget. Simply put, the phone or tablet stops working as a radio. If your the smartphone has not been switched to airplane mode, the signal emanating from it may cause interference in highly sensitive aircraft electronic devices.

When the smartphone is just “sleeping”(you do not call or send SMS from it), he is still searching the network, and the frequency of its signal may overlap the operating frequency important devices airplane. Even if it seems to you that a sleeping gadget does not pose a danger, switch it to airplane mode.

If Your device does not have a “switch to airplane mode” function(for example, you don’t have the most modern model), Just turn it off.

As is known, takeoff and landing are the most difficult stages of flight, during which pilots need to coordinate their actions with flight control on the ground. All this is done using navigation system airplane. The signal from your device may cause interference to radio communications, and the pilot won't hear important information, transmitted by the dispatcher, which will potentially lead to an emergency situation.

• Can be used throughout the flight any electronic devices that do not have GSM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth data exchange functions ( Digital Watch, cameras, video cameras, voice recorders, Hearing Aids, pacemakers, etc.).
• Devices that have a data exchange function also can be used at all stages of flight, but in airplane mode(smartphones, tablets, e-books, digital audio/video players, etc.).
• Turn off airplane mode for the above devices only possible during the flight(usually a few minutes after takeoff) and only after a message from the ship's crew. During takeoff, descent, landing and taxiing, it is not allowed to turn off airplane mode.

Lists and rules may vary depending on the airline, check on the official websites.

A couple of working phones will not affect the aircraft's navigation. But if all, say, 300 people on board began to actively use gadgets, interference from the ground would be noticeable.

Let's appreciate the work of others and not create unnecessary difficulties for pilots. After all, it only takes a couple of seconds to put your smartphone into airplane mode.