> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of An Metet > Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 6:35 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: vacuum-safe laptops ? > > > > Does anyone *know* (first or second hand, I can speculate > myself) which laptops, if any, can safely go to zero air > pressure (dropping from 1 atm to 0 in, say, 1 minute.)
What's your application, exactly? A rocket? I don't know about rapid decompression, but one problem is with the disk drives - the heads rely on entrained air to maintain separation from the disk surface. Most drives are not hermetically sealed, and have a (filtered) port to the outside to equalize air pressure. Some drives *are* sealed, and will operate at low pressure. I've seen this issue disscussed in the context of computers and laptops at high-altitude astronomical observatories: most machines will suffer head crashes if you try to use them at > 10,000 feet (jets maintain an internal pressure altitude of about 5,000 feet). Some applications use solid state drives to get around this: http://www.globalspec.com/featuredproducts/detail?exhibitId=10540&fromSpotlight=1&fromSupplier=0 Some displays may also be a problem. This is more an issue for big plasma displays. Sony makes a special plasma TV for high altitude use: http://www.superwarehouse.com/Sony_PlasmaPro_PFM-42V1A_S_Silver_42_Plasma_Display/PFM-42V1A_S/pf/330392 A useful article is at http://www.iht.com/IHT/SUP/031999/digi-08.html You might want to look at the Itronix GoBook Max. http://www.gobookmax.com/ This device supposedly meets MILSPEC: http://www.dtc.army.mil/pdf/810.pdf which is a USG survivability spec. It includes an explosive decompression test, but not to high vacuum. ...and of course, all this gets pricy. Peter Trei
