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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."
Shouldn't that be a coldspot, then?
Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
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?
Glad they solved this problem. I always wanted to wirelessly connect there.
The north pole? Intersting but wouldn't it be great to place a wireless node on every telephone pole? Just a public accessable wireless network that was free to use. Maybe included wireless networks in every government building. I really do feel wireless is the future of networking. We should take steps now to set up a huge coast to coast wireless network.
including, potentially, financial transactions
Also including, potentially, browsing for porn and hot online cybersex.
So now we can mail Santa Clause?
:D
Great
Imagine the overclocking!
Nah, they would be using a Prescott for that...
(couldn't resist)
Sources say that the scammers set up a wireless hotspot and commenced hosting a web page on an Apache web server.
Do, do not, or delegate to someone else: there is no try.
Prof Tom: "Damn it Bob! Quit tying up the satellite phone! I need to get online!"
Prof Bob (on the Phone): "No, I love you more!...No, you hang up first.."
Prof Tom: "Damn it Bob! My "online" girlfriend goes to bed at 11! HURRY UP!"
"It's not rocket science, Smithers! It's only brain surgery!" --Mr. Burns
those at the camp use the hotspot access for chores ranging from e-mail to getting real-time weather conditions
Folks... you're in a tent at the north pole... you don't need an internet connection to check on weather conditions! Just open the tent flap, for goodness' sake.
- Leo
You don't use science to show that you're right, you use science to become right.
Informative? INFORMATIVE?!?
The North Pole is .ic