Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The "Webcam" vs. the "Particle Beam"

Now here is something you don't see everyday (I'd say, it's something you don't ever 'want' to see)

I caught this on Make's blog about a test demonstrating the hell on electronics deep space can be.

A web camera is placed into a particle beam to show visually the affects of space radiation on electronics. This video shows the particles striking the camera along with streaks due to high angle impacts. In addition particles striking the audio circuit can be heard and the damage to the camera CCD is illustrated at the end of the video.This video was produced as an Education and Public Outreach product for the CRaTER Instrument (http://crater.bu.edu) that will fly on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission (http://lro.gsfc.nasa.gov/).




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