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Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

riedel.wtf

91–100 of 208 posts

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would have just given up and bought a new iPhone If people didn't already realize that most of people hanging around on HN have the top 10% of the world's wealth, this made things clearer than ever (the phone in question costs around 1000 EUR) Makes all the conversations around finance here make so much more sense.

If you are making €200,000 per year, your time is worth around €100 per hour. Thus if this is going to take more than 10 hours, it is not worth your time.

That might make some sense if you get paid by the hour and can get overtime. But if you are salaried that is crazy talk.

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#92
post #44

How much volume of air must be inside a standard phone these days to make it buoyant?

An iPhone 12 weighs 164g [1], so, through the magic of the metric system, it needs to displace a minimum of 164ml of water to float. The iPhone has an external volume of 14.67cm * 7.15cm * 0.74cm = 77.62cm^3 = 77.62ml. So it would need to be about 2x the volume to float. [1] https://www.apple.com/iphone-12/specs/

Yeah thanks, I looked it up and got those numbers from calculations but wasn't sure if that was the right way to just calculate that because I am not familiar with it.

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#93
post #21
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why people don't use magnets on strings to search for lost things in European canals more often. Could be an interesting hobby. Magnet fishing is a thing. There are web sites for it. Amazon sells kits with very strong magnets and ropes.

Maybe is the combination of rust iron, salmonella, chilling cold water and skin cuts. Aren't such big magnets an hazard for anything digital near them? Everything has a computer inside now, starting by cars.

An?

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#94
post #16

I’m surprised to hear that bluetooth, GPS, and cellular don’t work in water. I wonder what’s the science behind this.

It’s why we use sonar rather than radar to see underwater… Indeed also the reason we can use radar to detect rainclouds.

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#95
post #2

I've gotta give them props for the persistence. I would have just given up and bought a new iPhone. It's impressive that the iPhone survived the whole ordeal, without even turning off. And the amount of stuff they found makes me wonder why people don't use magnets on strings to search for lost things in European canals more often. Could be an interesting hobby.

They do quite often the find dumped guns etc search for magnet fishing videos on YouTube

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#96
post #21
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why people don't use magnets on strings to search for lost things in European canals more often. Could be an interesting hobby. Magnet fishing is a thing. There are web sites for it. Amazon sells kits with very strong magnets and ropes.

Maybe is the combination of rust iron, salmonella, chilling cold water and skin cuts. Aren't such big magnets an hazard for anything digital near them? Everything has a computer inside now, starting by cars.

"Maybe is the combination of rust iron, salmonella, chilling cold water and skin cuts."

Add old explosives with rusty triggers to the list.

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Signal attenuation is correct.

Are different frequencies attenuated differently then out of interest in water?

Yes, generally the smaller the wavelength, the worse the attenuation. Quick googling: 4g is 600Mhz to 2.5Ghz or 0.5m to 12.5cm wavelength. For comparison, the US Navy uses 80Hz or 3750km wavelength to talk to submerged submarines.[1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_dipole

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> …makes me wonder why people don't use magnets on strings to search for lost things in European canals more often. You may be interested in “Below the Surface”, an exhibition of objects found in Amsterdam canals that have been dated from 2005 (phones, coins) back to -119000 (sea shells). https://belowthesurface.amsterdam/en/vondsten

I found a load of clay pipe stems on the bank of the Thames. My father found a 16th century corkscrew there too. It makes a very distant past feel much closer.

The past is all around us ... or below us.

Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal

#100
post #2

I've gotta give them props for the persistence. I would have just given up and bought a new iPhone. It's impressive that the iPhone survived the whole ordeal, without even turning off. And the amount of stuff they found makes me wonder why people don't use magnets on strings to search for lost things in European canals more often. Could be an interesting hobby.

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