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To: Myrddin

I will remember your expertise, what caused the smoke in the command center when there was no fire?


2,348 posted on 07/22/2004 2:49:38 PM PDT by JustPiper (Something happened- Nothing's Working- Everything's a lie)
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To: JustPiper
I will remember your expertise, what caused the smoke in the command center when there was no fire?

When you have a -48V power supply that can supply nearly 5,000 amps, you must be very careful around the power bus. The bus is usually made from 6 to 8 plates of laminated aluminum to afford sufficient stiffness. When the power goes on, the sudden rush of current causes a strong magnetic field that would whip a flexible conductor around. There is enough current to vaporize a typical steel crescent wrench if dropped across the bus.

The smoke could have come from a piece of electronic equipment that was improperly connected to the power or a shorted power supply cable. The latter case might have necessitated an immediate power shut off to avoid escalation into an actual fire.

2,382 posted on 07/22/2004 3:24:11 PM PDT by Myrddin
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