Slashdot Mirror
Rain Drops Signal Cell Phones
An anonymous reader writes "Signals from mobile phone masts have been used to measure rainfall patterns in Israel, scientists report. From the BBC article: 'The University of Tel-Aviv analyzed information routinely collected by mobile networks and say their technique is more accurate than current methods used by meteorological services. The data is a by-product of mobile network operators' need to monitor signal strength. If bad weather causes a signal to drop, an automatic system analyzing the data boosts the signal to make sure that people can still use their mobile phones. The amount of reduction in signal strength gave the researchers an indication of how much rain had fallen.'"
Is it just me, or are the headlines for some articles just downright incomprehensible?
What does "Rain Drops Signal Cell Phones" actually mean? Are individual raindrops sending signals to cell phones? Did they actually mean that rain drops (degrades) cell phone signals? No, apparently they meant that cell phone signals can detect rain drops... and unless my ability to parse english is somewhat broken, the headline simply doesn't say that.
I wouldn't mention this if it didn't happen at least once a week. I'm forced to spend a good ten seconds in a state of frustrated confusion as my brain struggles to comprehend absolute gibberish.
it reminds me of a quote that I read the other day about the problem with weather forecasts: It is right far too often for us to ignore it, but wrong far too often for us to rely on it. And mobile phone... they cut off too much to even be used as a full time emergancy phone, maybe this is just a way of getting twice the problems. Also it would look like it was always raining over my mum's house, she seems incapable of getting or keeping a signal... so it won't be perfect
*''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
But the information necessary for this novel approach is effectively free, continuous and comes from a dense network of masts that already span almost the entire globe.
Oh really, these people need to get a clue, down here in Australia the mobile networks cover absoultely crap all of the continent and my moneys on Africa, South America, Asia (The real asia which is freaking huge) and Sibera are pretty much in the same boat.
And don't get me started on the 2/3rd of the planet is covered in water bit.