Posted on 10/14/2010 11:49:08 AM PDT by Swordmaker
I agree, Space Engineer Dad really put a lot of thought and planning into this little project. I’m guessing that the cost outlay on this project was more than a trip to the movies too.
And while the altitude is certainly very impressive, the primary concerns I can see with this issue would be temperature and possible delamination of the screen assembly due to low atmospheric pressure. However, would the screen delaminate from exposure to low atmospheric pressure for a duration of less than an hour? I really don’t know. But, even *if* the screen delaminated, I’m under the impression that the MobileMe functionality would not be impacted. True, the phone may not work as a touch device after this experiment (or work as well) - but I expect that many of the functions would remain well within parameters.
My first area of concern was the battery. Looking into the iPhone 4 (assumed it was an iPhone 4) battery shows that these batteries are in a poly ‘bag’ - not a hard plastic container. So, any expansion of the battery due to low pressure would simply mean the bag got a little bit ‘bigger’, I’d expect minimal inflation as Lithium Ion batteries don’t have a lot of air in them.
Temperature wise, batteries don’t freeze quickly - it takes time and before they freeze their surge current drops, however their voltage output remains fairly constant. Given the short flight time, I can see where the phone may have less current draw - but in the standby state this should be minimal. As if falls back down, it warms back up - so the MobileMe connection should restore when the phone warms back up.
That’s what I find credable about this story. The 10,000 ft altitude on the Apple iPhone is a statistical rating, not an absolute rating. Approximately 0.1% of the iPhones on the market will fail when operating over some substancial length of time at an altitude greater than 10,000 ft. They do not say ‘why’. Overheating due to thinner air? Delamination of the screen? Offgassing of electrolytic capacitors?
I worked in a VA hospital back in the 80’s. One of the computer gurus was making fun of the PC computers and took us back to see what real computer memory looked like. He had room with tens of thousands of those round magnets all hand wound and hanging in racks. It was actually kind of impressive.
One of the most awesome things ever. BRAVO to the family that did this!
Now to launch one with a live 4G streaming video!!!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.