He was lucky. A family member spilled water over her beloved 6 months old iPhone 12, it leaked in and caused stains on the display.
That seems like pretty bad luck! In the early months of the pandemic I washed my iPhone 11 daily with no ill effects.
Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal
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Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal
#62I'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.
> 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.
I suspect the vast majority of people on HN are in the top 1% globally. People don't realise how high incomes in the US are relative to the rest of the world.
Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
Large permanent magnets are a fairly minor hazard to most electronics.
A phone or iPad will take 3T and work ok afterwards. I’ve seen engineers photograph the cold head on an MR scanner and the phone has held up just fine. Sometimes they turn off for a bit and need a little rest.
Unless they are taking the photo from near or in the bore, the camera isn't seeing anything like 3T (or, for that matter 1T).
Most such photos are taken from outside the 5G line which is a very different kettle of fish.
You are right that lots of electronics will be safe in the sense that it will not function in the field but be ok afterwards outside the room - so long as you don't move it around too fast.
On the other hand, most consumer electronics would likely fly out of your hand and smash into the bore well before you get anywhere close to the peak strength.
Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal
#64I'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.
> …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.
Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal
#65He was lucky. A family member spilled water over her beloved 6 months old iPhone 12, it leaked in and caused stains on the display.
That seems like pretty bad luck! In the early months of the pandemic I washed my iPhone 11 daily with no ill effects.
It was likely damaged. A fall, for instance, can damage a smartphone enough to break its seal while being almost imperceptible to humans. Making electronics water resistant is always a very tricky endeavor.
Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal
#66I just find the German text message entertaining. The words and syntax are great. "Mir ist grad mein handy in den Landwahrkanal geplumpst" Geplumpst! Sounds exactly the right word for what just happened. "Jetzt könnte ich ein Bier gebrauchen" Couldn't we all.
Could someone translate?
Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal
#67I’m surprised to hear that bluetooth, GPS, and cellular don’t work in water. I wonder what’s the science behind this.
Most water you’d drop a phone into has enough traces of salt to make it conductive. Therefore, the water acts like a faraday cage.
Theres a calculation you can do to calculate this, its pretty standard E&M stuff. Basically you calculate the skin depth of the material and thats as far as the signal can penetrate. The derivation highlights some cool things:
1. Its frequency dependent. This is why military submarines communicate at around 30 Hz.
2. Your audio cable (and all high frequency power cables) are stranded
3. Your microwave is effectively shielded with a thin layer of metal
4. An induction stove wont work with Al pans, but will quickly melt Al foil
Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal
#68I just find the German text message entertaining. The words and syntax are great. "Mir ist grad mein handy in den Landwahrkanal geplumpst" Geplumpst! Sounds exactly the right word for what just happened. "Jetzt könnte ich ein Bier gebrauchen" Couldn't we all.
Could someone translate?
From the context and the word "Bier", "I'd like to grab a beer" perhaps
Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal
#69I just find the German text message entertaining. The words and syntax are great. "Mir ist grad mein handy in den Landwahrkanal geplumpst" Geplumpst! Sounds exactly the right word for what just happened. "Jetzt könnte ich ein Bier gebrauchen" Couldn't we all.
Could someone translate?
"My phone just plopped into the Landwehr Canal."
"Hahaha and now what"
"Great question"
"Now I could use a beer."
Re: Using a magnetic string to fish for a lost iPhone 12 in a Berlin canal
#70I just find the German text message entertaining. The words and syntax are great. "Mir ist grad mein handy in den Landwahrkanal geplumpst" Geplumpst! Sounds exactly the right word for what just happened. "Jetzt könnte ich ein Bier gebrauchen" Couldn't we all.
Could someone translate?
> Geplumpst
Basically means something fell or as Google Translate says "flopped" -- however, GP seems to be excited over the apparent onomatopoeia in the word because it evokes the sound of something falling in water.
> "Mir ist grad mein handy in den Landwahrkanal geplumpst"
This essentially says "My cellphone fell in the canal!" but with the delicious "geplumpst" word sound.
> "Jetzt könnte ich ein Bier gebrauchen"
This exclaims "I could use a beer now".