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I once heard that the Navy has a electronics phobia and relies as much as possible on mechanical and physical human control because EMP (e.g. du atomic bombs) a
by FrojoS 13y ago
I once heard that the Navy has a electronics phobia and relies as much as possible on mechanical and physical human control because EMP (e.g. du atomic bombs) are such a big thread. Maybe this is untrue or only true for key vessels like air craft carries. Does anyone know?
- INTPenis 13y agoWell it's more likely a mix of both. That is to say, if your computer crashes you should always have a manual backup.
- mpyne 13y agoI wouldn't say a phobia, as much as an acknowledgment that historical experience has shown that electrical-type facilities are the most susceptible to damage, and that the conversion from analog electrical to digital electronic didn't always help matters. I've served on a ship where we had to keep a "fake" target entered into the fire control system at all times, since it would crash if the last target was dropped. That system was our only interface to the torpedoes, so in that scenario we'd be left in the situation of having to wait minutes for the system to reboot before we could launch weapons again. Peacetime or not, it's not a good feeling. Top all of that with the fact that we have to survive damage from accidents and casualties and not just battle damage. E.g. what happens if a fire breaks out in the port turbine generator and fries the connector wires to the solenoid for an important valve needed to control ship's list and trim? Without the possibility of manual backups we'd possibly be in for a very bad time. The Navy has a lot of experience with how the oceans and the enemy will conspire against a ship. However well you design your circuits, it's still better to have something available which always Just Works.