Posted on 03/23/2010 8:39:29 AM PDT by ConservativeMind
Like a story line straight out of a George Lucas film, reports are surfacing that cosmic rays may be responsible for the dangerous cases of unintended acceleration that have spurred the recall of millions of Toyota vehicles.
“Before you dismiss the cosmic ray theory, consider that the issue has been known since the 1950s, and airplane and spacecraft manufacturers design in safeguards that triple-check all data as a defense from such interference from space,” writes Autoblog. “Later, in the 1970s, researchers found that small amounts of this radiation does indeed make it down to the surface and can cause problems with small electronics like cell phones and computers.”
The possibility was brought to light by a “concerned scientist” who sent an email to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA). The message, which is published in full on Jalopnik, reads: “For reasons I am unable to disclose, I am anonymously submitting several publically available scientific papers that discuss the possibility of cosmic rays disrupting electronics at sea level, essentially flipping a bit from one to zero, or vice versa. This phenomenon is a ‘soft’ error that is not detectable except through redundant electronic and communication systems. The scientific community refers to such occurrences as ‘Single Event Upsets,’ or SEUs.” The scientist goes on to state, “The reason SEUs are now relevant to the automotive industry is because electronics have gotten smaller and the required voltage levels have dropped significantly, therefore making electronics more susceptible to cosmic radiation…”
Toyota, however, denies that SEUs are to blame for reported cases of unintended acceleration. According to the Detroit Free Press: “Toyota staunchly defends its electronics, saying they were designed for ‘absolute reliability.’ Responding to the Free Press, Toyota said its systems ‘are not the same as typical consumer electronics. The durability, size, susceptibility and specifications of the automotive electronics make them robust against this type of interference.’”
Still, the NHTSA is taking the tip seriously -- adding the anonymous email to its investigation case file.
Check out the latest Toyota recall news and information, including how the company's recent troubles affect our rankings. If you're in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year's best cars as well as this month's best car deals.
Commie Rays maybe
So... what does God have against Toyota?
But your Honor-the Sun Spots made me do it! I swear!
GMTA— see my 18.
I’m only 61 seconds behind your posting because I went out to get the image to post... ;-)
I get this funny feeling that if Toyota hires AFL-CIO or gets ACORN help, THEN THAT would immediately provide shielding against the “Dreaded Cosmic Rays”...
They were, the outages were in Central America....where communications at the time were 2 tin cans a piece of string, more or less. Their networks were lousy to begin with, and the sunspots were really messing them up.
Okay, now I’ve heard everything! LMAO
It’s all so very simple.
On my Corolla, the gas peddle and brake are so close together, I can see people mistaking one for the other. I’ve actually learned to use two feet while driving.
The only thing causing Toyotas to accelerate are owners behind on their payments.
Mooooooooooooooooo, plop, plop.....
So, you’ve heard of an equal number of “unintended braking” or “unintended steering” events that cosmic rays effected on Toyotas? Why would cosmic rays like to only accelerate a car?
Cosmic Ray
I’m betting that liberals are looking for an entity to victimize and for a chance to look like the victim in the process.
If it is SEUs it is bad design.. They can be dealt with.
Other rare random events are: Asynchronous interface design problem, probably more likely than a SEU. But again can be designed out if done correctly.
A physical problem could be dendrites..
My MinnKota AutoPilot trolling motor freaks out every now and then. The AutoPilot goes into hard left or right turn mode.. Haven’t traced it down yet, but someone said it could be dendrites and I should look at the controller card to see if I can see any.. I should do that before the ice melts.
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