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North Pole Gets Wi-Fi Hotspot
Torrey Clark writes "Two Moscow-based Intel employees have setup a Wi-Fi hotspot near the North Pole, according to Intel.
The hot spot was built in the Arctic region at the Barneo ice camp, a tent complex used by scientists, researchers and rescue crews during the month of April, when ice conditions are safe. Still, the camp environment is never ideal for computer devices, as the air temperature rarely rises above -30 Celsius, according to Intel.
The hotspot uses Intel's Centrino equipment and the Iridium satellite phone system as backhaul. The company said in its statement that the installation shows that the equipment can be used in extreme circumstances. It said that those at the camp use the hotspot access for chores ranging from e-mail to getting real-time weather conditions and for taking care of matters at home, including, potentially, financial transactions."
Pretty cool, but I know what you are thinking, "-30 Celsius, so what,
we have wireless communications and electronics operating out in deep
space where it is only 3 degrees kelvin!"
Well, it is a lot colder for sure, more difficult and expensive, but not as bad as
you might think. It is actually kind of hard to get space craft electronics down
to a very low temperature that is needed for items like x-ray telescopes and the
like. Space craft that don't want any heat radiation at all affecting them. From a
tutorial on extreme temperature electronics:
"Far from anything (in intergalactic space, for example) a passive object would
cool to a few kelvins (a few degrees above absolute zero). However, spacecraft
are not in such an environment during their useful life; most spacecraft are near
bodies such as the Earth and also receive energy from the Sun. In addition,
spacecraft usually incorporate power sources (chemical batteries, solar cells,
or nuclear generators), and the resulting heat must be dissipated. [snip]
Cooling a spacecraft down to a few kelvins passively (without refrigeration or a cryogen)
in the inner Solar System is probably impossible. However, quite low temperatures can
be attained by using well designed thermal shielding and insulation combined with
large heat radiators. For example, major parts of the James Webb Space Telescope
(JWST) (Formerly the Next Generation Space Telescope, NGST) are planned to be
operated as cold as about 35 K (about 240C) by these techniques."
Still 240C is pretty impressive. However, At the low end, operation of
semiconductor-based devices and circuits has often been reported down to
temperatures as low as a few degrees above absolute zero, in other words as
low as about 270C. This includes devices based on Si, Ge, GaAs and other
semiconductor materials. Moreover, there is no reason to believe that operation
should not extend all the way down to absolute zero.
You can learn more here:
--greg Vulcan quiescent... Q: What machine shutdown with this message?
We've already got hotspots at Concordia station and Amundsen-Scott. Had 'em for years.
I think you need to put in a minus sign or two...
-240 Celsius = 35 Kelvin
0K = absolute 0 = -273 C or thereabouts.
0C = 273 K
240C = 240 + 273...
Alex
That's patently false. Absolute zero is the temp at which thermal velocity (vibration, rotation of particles) stops. There is no reason why it would prevent ELECTRICAL fields from inducing electron flows.
An electron at absolute zero is still fully capable of moving in response to an electrical field. Now, granted, when the electrons start moving, you can talk about them having a temperature. However, that's just a manifestation of the transfer of energy (electrical potential -> kinetic/temperature). Once that energy is used to do work, ie, emitting a photon from an LED, then the temp is back down to absolute zero.
Yes, I am a physicist.