4 ms·

Helium kills iPhones: MEMs oscillator sensitivity to helium [video]

25 points by juancampa 8y ago

juancampa 8y ago
This makes me wonder if someone could somehow silently inject helium in a room to kill all phones (iPhone only?) for malicious purposes
- InclinedPlane 8y ago
  Yes, fairly easily. The trick is finding the sweet spot of concentration (speed of action vs difficulty vs detectability). As a SWAG I'd say somewhere in the 5-10% range is probably optimal.
- jwalton 8y ago
  I'd just like to point out, for folks who are thinking of trying this at home, that in addition to killing iPhones, helium has been known to kill people: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/inhaling-gas-from-helium-balloons-no-laughing-matter-it-can-kill/news-story/4126938014edcc1cac02ae8c7ca2de83 https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/inhaling-gas-from-h...
  - CyberDildonics 8y ago
    Helium doesn't kill people, lack of oxygen kills people. Helium also doesn't stay in the same place for long - it is too lightweight to even stay in the atmosphere. Any helium released in a room will immediately float upwards and rapidly be gone forever. For someone to die using helium, they would literally have to first find pure helium (which isn't sold at party stores any more - helium is mixed with oxygen) and pump it into a plastic bag over their head with the bag sealed (because it will come off when you pass out, you will breath in oxygen, then wake up).
    - skissane 8y ago
      > Helium doesn't kill people, lack of oxygen kills people. Helium embolism can kill people. Due to helium's permeability, it can travel through tissues and into the blood stream. Helium gas bubbles form in the bloodstream, preventing the flow of blood. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1344622317302717 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S134462231...
      - nradov 8y ago
        Divers routinely breathe >90% helium mixes with no ill effects provided they ascend and descend at the proper rates. I very much doubt that helium embolism is a real phenomenon at normal atmospheric pressures. More likely that article is just completely wrong based on misinterpreting postmortem changes.
        skissane 8y ago
        If one is breathing helium directly from a pressurised tank, one can be inhaling it at higher than normal atmospheric pressure. Divers control the pressure at which the diving gas is being delivered. A person who is breathing helium directly from a tank, either for misguided recreational reasons or with suicidal intent, is unlikely to be doing that. The original suggestion – of adding helium to a room in order to damage iPhones – unless the room is pressurised, it is going to be at normal atmospheric pressure, so asphyxiation is a far greater risk than embolism. But, the point remains, inhaling helium is actually a lot more risky than many people think, sometimes it kills. https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/02/parents_of_eagle_point_girl_wh.html https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/...
- ccarse 8y ago
  It only disables them, doesn't kill them. After the helium has time to diffuse back out the phone starts working again.
  - codewritinfool 8y ago
    It is conceivable that a powered chip clocked with a MEMS oscillator that is seriously off-frequency may latch into a state that is unrecoverable so long as power is applied.
- Fjolsvith 8y ago
  Actually, this would be a practical application in a prison setting.
teilo 8y ago
This is the inevitable follow up to this: https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/9mk2o7/mri_disabled_every_ios_device_in_facility/ https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/9mk2o7/mri_disabl...
Communitivity 8y ago
This would make a great plot device for a murder mystery story.
nradov 8y ago
Previously discussed: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18340693 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18340693

25 points by juancampa 8y ago

This makes me wonder if someone could somehow silently inject helium in a room to kill all phones (iPhone only?) for malicious purposes

InclinedPlane 8y ago
Yes, fairly easily. The trick is finding the sweet spot of concentration (speed of action vs difficulty vs detectability). As a SWAG I'd say somewhere in the 5-10% range is probably optimal.
jwalton 8y ago
I'd just like to point out, for folks who are thinking of trying this at home, that in addition to killing iPhones, helium has been known to kill people: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/inhaling-gas-from-helium-balloons-no-laughing-matter-it-can-kill/news-story/4126938014edcc1cac02ae8c7ca2de83 https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/inhaling-gas-from-h...
- CyberDildonics 8y ago
  Helium doesn't kill people, lack of oxygen kills people. Helium also doesn't stay in the same place for long - it is too lightweight to even stay in the atmosphere. Any helium released in a room will immediately float upwards and rapidly be gone forever. For someone to die using helium, they would literally have to first find pure helium (which isn't sold at party stores any more - helium is mixed with oxygen) and pump it into a plastic bag over their head with the bag sealed (because it will come off when you pass out, you will breath in oxygen, then wake up).
  - skissane 8y ago
    > Helium doesn't kill people, lack of oxygen kills people. Helium embolism can kill people. Due to helium's permeability, it can travel through tissues and into the blood stream. Helium gas bubbles form in the bloodstream, preventing the flow of blood. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1344622317302717 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S134462231...
    - nradov 8y ago
      Divers routinely breathe >90% helium mixes with no ill effects provided they ascend and descend at the proper rates. I very much doubt that helium embolism is a real phenomenon at normal atmospheric pressures. More likely that article is just completely wrong based on misinterpreting postmortem changes.
      - skissane 8y ago
        If one is breathing helium directly from a pressurised tank, one can be inhaling it at higher than normal atmospheric pressure. Divers control the pressure at which the diving gas is being delivered. A person who is breathing helium directly from a tank, either for misguided recreational reasons or with suicidal intent, is unlikely to be doing that. The original suggestion – of adding helium to a room in order to damage iPhones – unless the room is pressurised, it is going to be at normal atmospheric pressure, so asphyxiation is a far greater risk than embolism. But, the point remains, inhaling helium is actually a lot more risky than many people think, sometimes it kills. https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/02/parents_of_eagle_point_girl_wh.html https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/...
ccarse 8y ago
It only disables them, doesn't kill them. After the helium has time to diffuse back out the phone starts working again.
- codewritinfool 8y ago
  It is conceivable that a powered chip clocked with a MEMS oscillator that is seriously off-frequency may latch into a state that is unrecoverable so long as power is applied.
Fjolsvith 8y ago
Actually, this would be a practical application in a prison setting.

teilo 8y ago

This is the inevitable follow up to this: https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/9mk2o7/mri_disabled_every_ios_device_in_facility/ https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/9mk2o7/mri_disabl...

Communitivity 8y ago

This would make a great plot device for a murder mystery story.

nradov 8y ago

Previously discussed: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18340693 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18340693