Nanotube Paint Blocks Cell Phones on Demand 679
Kozar_The_Malignant writes "Newsday is reporting on a new nanotube paint that is able to block cell phone signals on demand. The nanotubes are filled with copper, suspended in paint, and can be applied to the walls and ceiling of places such as concert halls, churches, and classrooms."
Cool but (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Cool but (Score:2)
You mean these? (Score:5, Informative)
Here. [acs.org]
Just to prove that science is stranger than fiction
(Mod this interesting, if you want)
Re:Lead - Asbestos (Score:4, Insightful)
As a woodworker I am aware of the respiratory issues with small particles. Any time I see "X times smaller than a human hair" I think lung damage.
Better Application? (Score:2, Funny)
Thank GOD. But I still think the best option is to just dump a can of this paint on the offenders and then light them on fire.
Much more direct. And you don't have to listen to them yap to the person next to them about how their cell phone isn't working.
Illegal? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Illegal? (Score:2)
When I was a kid I helped my father build a corrugated tin shed. My brother tried to use his cell phone in it over christmas and found no signal. There have been no charges laid in connection with the construction of the shed.
Re:Illegal? (Score:3, Insightful)
Your problem is that you're trying to apply reason to the issue. This is completely irrelevant when it comes to the law. In many jurisdictions, it's illegal to own a "bullet-proof" vest, because obviously the only reason you would want it is if you're planning to do something illegal.
Don't you see, if it blocks cell phones, then it could also block other transmitting waves, such as bugs or undercover wired polizei. Anybody who wants to try and s
Re:Illegal? (Score:2)
So, this is a painted-on Faraday cage, then?
Re:Illegal? (Score:2)
Which figures of course, but isn't an answer either.
Re:Illegal? (Score:2)
If the cell company rep's lips were moving when he said that, that's prima facie evidence that it's legal.
Re:Illegal? (Score:2)
Re:Illegal? (Score:2)
You have no guaranteed right to pass radio waves through the walls of my business. I'm certainly not allowed to broadcast my own radio waves just to mess with your own, but that's not what's happening here.
Re:Illegal? No, it's legal. (Score:2)
Someone else mentioned a Faraday cage, which might be great to implement with ne
Re:Illegal? (Score:2)
2. People break the law
Is this the new high-tech tinfoil?? (Score:2)
Re:Is this the new high-tech tinfoil?? (Score:3, Funny)
Really cool.. (Score:2, Insightful)
Because..
The very first time I miss an emergency call because of this paint, I will be suing both the building and the company that made the paint. I might even sue the guy who applied the paint on the walls..
Some people RELY on their cell phones' ability to receive calls...
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
Like doctors
Re:Really cool.. (Score:3, Insightful)
What do you think these people did BEFORE cell phones? No different with this thing, except it's only a FEW places where they are restricted from going, rather than being stuck at home.
Only idiots rely on a wireless device... (Score:2)
Re:Only idiots rely on a wireless device... (Score:2)
Actually mine does. It beeps, and it beeps again when I get service.
But most of what you said is true. This guy must be rich from all the lawsuits he's had against contractors. I've been in plenty of buildings where I'll loose service.
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
"but honey, what if a patient needs me?"
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
No, but doctors have relied on communications devices for years. My dad carried a beeper in the 1970s and 80s, then got a cell phone (the big car-only kind) in the mid-80s along with the beeper, and switched to a cell only in the 90s. In many small towns like the one we grew up in, there are only 1-2 specialists of some types, so he was basically always on call.
Even in larger cities, if one of
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
Selfish b**tard! (Score:2)
Re:Selfish b**tard! (Score:2)
If something comes up where they need/want to be unavailable, like say a concert, etc. they trade off with somebody else and TURN THE PAGER/PHONE OFF.
There just aren't any cases I can think of where somebody needs to be "available" 24/7/365 and disrupting public gatherings.
Re:Really cool.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Cell phones are inherently unreliable, and the cell phone company itself makes no guarantee that your phone will work at any given time or any given place. Would you sue the cell phone company every time your phone fails to ring? Of course not.
People like you suck.
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
Some people RELY on their cell phones' ability to receive calls... "
That's fine. But don't sue because you chose to enter an area where cell phone use is disabled -- you have no universal right to cell phone coverage, and BS lawsuits are a waste of MY money as a taxpayer.
If you rely on your cell phone,
Technological solution. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Technological solution. (Score:2)
Right, because having some on-call asshat get up in the middle of the movie and climb over me, stepping on my feet and mumbling apologies during the big fight scene/car chase/lover's reunion isn't annoying at all.
Re:Technological solution. (Score:2)
If you're in a position where you need to be able to be contacted 24/7, going to a
Re:Technological solution. (Score:2)
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
Let's remember: one person's freedom ends where the neighbor's starts. You have as much right to receive your calls as I have the right to enjoy a concert-play-movie, or listen to, or even give, a conference.
The key here would be the warnings: every place has a code of conduct. When you buy a ticket or enroll in a conference, you accept a, let's call it "EULA": by entering the premises, you accept to have your cell phone blo
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
4. Profit!
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
If you need to be able to receive emergency calls at all times, then you need to make sure your phone has reception everywhere you go. The world does not owe you the right to get a call at any time.
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
If I own a building and do not want cell phones to work within my building, who are you to tell me that I have to?
I agree that a posted sign would be nice, but the owner doesn't owe you a number for you to forward calls to. The owner has the right to the building, and you have the right not to enter.
If you really need to be connected to your cell phone at all times, stand under a cell tower. There isn't an
Re:Really cool.. (Score:2)
Over time, people become aware of the areas of their locality or building where cell service is present or troublesome. Troublesome spots are all around us, but you don't see signs warning potential
I have no problem with this (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:I have no problem with this (Score:2)
FCC might kill this. (Score:2)
Re:FCC might kill this. (Score:2, Informative)
The novelty here is that it can be enabled and disabled at will.
Re:FCC might kill this. (Score:2)
Re:FCC might kill this. (Score:2, Informative)
Personally, I like the idea of creating a domestic space where I'm not being bombarded by microwave energy, around the clock. Just b
Hack! (Score:2)
Not exactly "On Demand".
Annoyance compression (Score:2)
Sweet (Score:2)
Not just theatres and classrooms... (Score:2)
The new asbestos? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:The new asbestos? (Score:2)
Nanotube paint will be safe once the paint has dried. (Organic solvents are not healthy!) I'ld suggest that painters were protective masks when sanding away the paint, because it is unknown what the health effects are. Mineral wools that chemically look a lot like a
Carcinogenic? (Score:2)
Are the facts really that difficult? (Score:2)
And I should pay any attention to the rest of the article because ...?
For what it's worth, the article also claims that the:
paint relies on the wizardry of nanotechnology to create a system that locks out unwanted cell phone signals on demand
This would be remarkable and is not true. Actually (from later on in the article), the company will:
combine this signal-blocking paint scheme with a radio-filtering devi
before cell phones (Score:2)
last Sunday in church (spare me the religion debate) a cell phone rang while the priest was consecrating the host. Jesus was pissed.
if people could be trusted to turn them to vibrate this sort of thing wouldn't even be on the drawing board. but people suck.
Will they make shampoo like this? (Score:2)
just trying to keep the Liberal Media out!
Other uses (Score:2)
As to people who need their cell phones (parents with children, brain sugeons, etc.), use a system like you have at restaurants that use the wireless pagers. They would be tuned to work inside the building; someone dials a number or goes online, sends a message to the theatre, church, whatever, and it's r
Re:Other uses (Score:2)
That would be true if the copper atoms were all aligned. If they were not, but instead were in random orientations, the radio waves would be scattered away from the source, diffusing it and making it harder to pick up. I
no-can-do (Score:3, Insightful)
My situation: I've got to wear a hospital pager 24/7. New movie theatre with signal-jamming capability? I can't go. Sure, I've got sense enough to keep it on vibrate, but i'm the minority. We have to resort to actually crippling the devices to keep people from being idiots.
Re:no-can-do (Score:2)
and this is new how?
cell phones already come crippled in some cases (verizon, cingular, all at fault). windows definatly is crippled. cars have been known to be crippled by revlimiting and seed limiting.
i'd rather have crippling to prevent idiothood then crippling to get a better profit.
Han is my Hero (and did shoot the green smelly guy first. )
Disasters? (Score:2)
How do you call for help? How do you let people know you're in there?
Blocking a means of emergency communications should be illegal. Especially with something that can't be turned off.
Sure, cell phones are a disturbance and a distraction, but they're not a danger to society or anything close to being an epid
Lawyers (Score:2)
I'm not convinced this is a good idea... (Score:2)
Being denied the ability to do this would
can do the same with a sheet of copper mesh (Score:4, Interesting)
The only thing newsworthy is that this paint contains nanotechnology. Sure, that's nice. But the summary and title are misleading: The paint blocks, always. The additional antenna blocks on demand, and there's nothing special there.
Re:can do the same with a sheet of copper mesh (Score:2)
In other words, all this hype about nanotube copper paint is just a TEMPEST in a teapot
From TFA (Score:2)
Someone's been watching a little too much Star Trek...
Now if they could come up with a nanopaint that would cause the cell phone's backlight to not turn on...
(From someone who's been to too many movies lately where some lus3r decided they wanted to check their text messages or play brickout or whatever during the movie.)
Big deal (Score:2)
I painted my daughter's room with it and it dropped the Cellphone signal in the room to barely useable. if I painted the door and replaced the screens with aluminum I am sure it would block almost all the signal.
Why wait for this high tech stuff t hat will cost hundreds of dollars when you can use a product that exists now. Heck copper bearing paint that is electrically conductive has also been around for years that does this job as
Nanoparticles - the new asbestos? (Score:2)
More and more information is coming to light that materials that are normally harmless can be extremely hazardous when distributed on a nanoparticle scale. Quoting from a recent Washington Post article [washingtonpost.com]:
RFID blocker (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:People in movie theaters... (Score:2)
Re:People in movie theaters... (Score:3, Insightful)
1) Cost. Copper filled nanotubes? Doesn't sound cheap. I'd expect even a plain paint with a relevant amount of copper in it to be expensive, let alone copper filled nanotubes.
2) Blocking emergency calls. Doctors on call, first responders, etc.
Re:People in movie theaters... (Score:2)
The cost of popcorn is going to $1/kernel.
This will never see the light of day (Score:2, Funny)
Re:People in movie theaters... (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:People in movie theaters... (Score:2)
Re:People in movie theaters... (Score:3, Insightful)
It's not him that has the 'right', it's the theater management. You don't have the 'right' of free speech on private property. (The first amendment m
Re:People in movie theaters... (Score:3, Funny)
You're both annoying the crap out of me; please surrender yourselves at your local police stations for re-education (and a free beating).
Re:People in movie theaters... (Score:2)
These people make other sacrifices for their chosen profession. This can be another one -- no movies while on call.
Re:People in movie theaters... (Score:4, Insightful)
At any rate, it seems like overkill to a problem that should've been fixed by the GSM standard itself - built into the GSM standard there should've been a mechanism to receive "silcence flags" sent by local transmitters. Church/movie theathre simply needs to have a transmitter in the room. First-responders could have special cellphoness that ignore the "silence flag".
Re:People in movie theaters... (Score:2)
I don't know about other professions but doctors on call 'round here have a pager which alerts them when they are needed, and a phone to get in touch with the dispatch point. If the signals are blocked then neither of these methods will work.
How do you propose you get in touch with a doctor at two in the morning if they're travelling between small towns? Mobile phones are incredibly useful, and network coverage is always a prime consideration, especially in rural areas.
Re:People in movie theaters... (Score:3, Interesting)
Go to movie theater, find seat, get number of seat, bring cell phone to the "cell phone check", which is outside the painted area, register it with your seat number. Minimum wage popcorn jockey sits and waits for phone to ring. If it does he takes a brief message with callback number and delivers it inobtrusively to your seat.
It's how things like that have been handled for years...and the solution is n
Re:People in movie theaters... (Score:4, Insightful)
When my cell phone vibrates during a movie and I look at the number to determine if it should go to voicemail or if I should excuse myself, no one is inconvenienced. Of course, I'm also not leaving in the middle of a movie to talk to someone who wasn't polite enough to inform me ahead of time that they are planning an emergency, so I won't even stand up and bother anyone.
Re:People in movie theaters... (Score:3, Interesting)
When you came up to buy a ticket, you were sorted based on how you looked and acted (oh no, discrimination!)
In one theater went unaccompanied teenagers, adults with really small children, people who couldn't get off their cellphone to buy a ticket, etc.
In the other theater went people who lo
Re:Blocks 911 too - private use only (Score:2)
Not sure how your phone works, but there are plenty of places where mine doesn't. If I go into the local Walmart I don't get any signal at all (which is annoying when you can't remember why you were sent there). Most of us wouldn't think it odd at all if our phones didn't work in any given building. Running outside to make a call is very instincti
Re:Blocks 911 too - private use only (Score:2)
>Imagine the lawsuit that results when there's a heart attack at a theater and 911 doesn't get there in time because they tried calling 911 and it didn't work, due to they panic they didn't think about running outside to call.
Using a cell phone to call 911 is a poor second choice to using a landline. The landline 911 call goes directly to the local emergency response center with instant info on the callers location. The response center is connected to police, fire, rescue, ambulance, and can get wha
Re:Nano threat to humanity? (Score:2)
Nanotech just refers to anything dealing with really really small technology. Grey goo is only an issue with self-replicating machines -- often referred to as Von Neumann machines [wikipedia.org] (or possibly other machines that alter the environment around them). The fear there is that microscopic self-replicating machines could, molecule by molecule, transform everything around them into more self-replicating machines.
If the nanotech doesn't alter matter around it, grey goo isn't a risk.
Re:Nano threat to humanity? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Nano threat to humanity? (Score:2)
Or maybe that's exactly what they want us to do...
Re:I know this sounds paranoid... (Score:2)
Re:I know this sounds paranoid... (Score:2)
Re:Developing != exists (Score:2)
Re:Thanks be to Allah (Score:2)
Re:Thanks be to Allah (Score:2)
Re:Thanks be to Allah (Score:2)
Do the math, there are a lot more "average joe" moviegoers than "super important doctor" movie goers. You alienatte the few to make the many happy. With theater revenues dropping I think that they will get behind this as soon as possible.