This article left me with a bit of a head scratcher. Maybe a future JerryRigEverything episode?
For those whom the link won’t work:
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iPhones (and apple watches) are allergic to helium.
At a medical facility in Chicago during the installation of a new MRI machine, suddenly, every iOS device in the facility started locking up.
It wasn't the magnet. A helium leak occurred when moving the MRI up the ramp, which spread through the entire facility.
But why would that kill an iPhone?
All computers have clocks; a sort of heartbeat that keeps the CPU and other components running at predictable frequencies.
Traditional computers use quartz oscillators. Problem is, they are kind of big.
The iPhone and apple watch, in an attempt to save space, use a newer technology known as MEMS timing oscillators.
These oscillators were vulnerable to helium intrusion, and after just a few minutes of exposure, will completely lock up the system!
Nothing crazy happens, the CPU just flat out stops.
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