Analogy:
A surge protector is like a bucket that the surge energy is dumped
into. [The excess electrical energy is turned into heat by the surge
protector.] After the surge is over, the bucket is emptied, [the
surge protector cools down] but if you look closely, a small amount
of the rim of the bucket has been burned away [the surge protector is
slightly damaged with each surge], and it doesn't hold quite as much.
Not all surge protectors have the same size bucket. Some are too
small. Normal surges are like a cup of energy; bigger surges are like
a quart or even a gallon of energy. A lightening strike is like a
tanker truck of energy dumped into the bucket. The bucket is so small
in comparison, that it's swamped; [the heat energy raises the
temperature of the surge protector way beyond what it can cope with]
it doesn't matter if it's there or not.
Many years ago I witnessed a laboratory demonstration of the power of
lightning. They rigged up a very high voltage spark (a shadow of a
real lightning bolt) and had it jump to a block of wood. In an
instant, the spark jumped and the block of wood was just gone. In
that instant, all of the moisture in the wood was turned into steam,
and the steam just shattered the wood into dust.
Not to burst your bubble, but in my personal experience surge protectors
are worthless for lightning strikes. Our home was hit by lightning in
2003 and at least one piece of equipment was fried on (a) the AC line,
(b) the phone line, and (c) the cable TV. Not sure where the jolt
actually came into the house but it fused a phone line (physically
welded the conductors)knocking out a couple of telephones and a fax
machine, wiped out the cable box (no connection to the phone system) in
the family room, and fried my WiFi access point (connected to a cable
modem that suffered no damage -- go figure).
And all the affected gear except the telephone handset was on a surge
protector.
-Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Computer Guys Announcements and Discussion List
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Eric S. Sande
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 6:26 PM
To: COMPUTERGUYS-L@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Subject: Re: [CGUYS] Speeding Up XP [Was: Vista Memory Needs
Not so sure about it being a good idea that personal machines run
around
the clock. Besides the --- waste of electricity
My brother and I have different takes on this. He is a power off
guy, I'm a power on guy. Since day one I've always run 24/7 with
all my electronics. In the tube days it made sense to switch off, but
then you had to wait for the set to warm up.
--- greatly increased exposure to corruption from power fluctuations
and
network baddies
Not with a hardware firewall and a good UPS.
--- 24/7 operation brings on the inevitable failure of $10 cooling fans
which then can cook your chip
Possibly a valid point.
However, the most stressful moment for electronics is the initial
power cycle (i. e., "turning it on"). The only real danger that I can
see with an always on condition is lightning strikes. Overvoltage
conditions, in other words. But we have surge protectors for that.
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