Quick Fire Questions (A Place to Ask and Answer)

[David Evil Overlord]

Originally Posted by alchemist

Thanks again, guys. The Faraday cage would be a little....impractical but it might work.

Perhaps springs' stud-finder is the key after all, but using the battery rather than the device itself. Unfortunately, while awake all night I thought of another scene which may complicate this one, which may mean re-writing elsewhere depending on what I come up with here, but at least I have lots of food for thought.

I have heard (and I'm sure there will be a scientist along any minute now to tell me if I'm wrong) that if your car hits a power pole and the live wires are twitching and sparking and generally being dangerously electrical all over the place, just sit tight. The body of the car is acting as an improvised Faraday cage. If you open the door, you break the effect of the cage, and all that voltage comes looking for you.

Now, I'm not suggesting you crash your character's car into a power pole. Not unless it helps your evil plot. But making something similar should not be impossible. Provided at least one character knows what they're doing (and doesn't just think they know what they're doing).

[alchemist]

There was an episode of Top Gear which proved that.

Alas, for my story, it doesn't fit with where everybody is (no cars or power poles, for instance).

[Gumboot]

Originally Posted by David Evil Overlord

I have heard (and I'm sure there will be a scientist along any minute now to tell me if I'm wrong) that if your car hits a power pole and the live wires are twitching and sparking and generally being dangerously electrical all over the place, just sit tight. The body of the car is acting as an improvised Faraday cage. If you open the door, you break the effect of the cage, and all that voltage comes looking for you.

Now, I'm not suggesting you crash your character's car into a power pole. Not unless it helps your evil plot. But making something similar should not be impossible. Provided at least one character knows what they're doing (and doesn't just think they know what they're doing).

As long as you don't provide the current a way to earth (say by sticking your foot on the ground) the tyres of the car will keep you insulated and you'll be safe.

If you have to get out of the vehicle (say it's on fire) you should jump clear, ensuring that at no time is your body connected to both the car and the ground at the same time. If the voltage is high enough it may arc across the intervening space and fry you like crispy bacon, but hopefully you'll jump far enough that the voltage can't arc across.

[Vertigo]

Yes as Gumboot says that particular effect is not really a Faraday Cage. You are safe because of the insulation of your tyres and the metal of the car providing the easiest route for the electricity (rather than your body).

The windows are much too large for a car to be a true Faraday Cage. If it was you would not be able to use your mobile phones inside the car. It does attenuate the signal some which is why it is preferable to have aerials for radio and such like outside the car body. However it is not completely necessary.

I believe though I couldn't swear to it that the size of the holes or gaps in a Faraday Cage are proportional to the wavelength of the signal you wish to block. Don't quote me on that one though

[Ursa major]

The Wiki article has this as part of its introductory paragraphs:

Faraday cages cannot block static and slowly varying magnetic fields, such as Earth's magnetic field (a compass will still work inside). To a large degree though, they also shield the interior from external electromagnetic radiation if the conductor is thick enough and any holes are significantly smaller than the radiation's wavelength.

[Vertigo]

Ah I thought there was a relationship between wavelength and hole size. I guess car windows are going to be just a tad bigger than most microwave wavelengths

[Interference]

....although windows of opportunity are often considerably smaller....

[fishii]

If someone is talking and they have a flash back while talking (as in it's part of the dialogue) should it be in italics?

[Glitch]

The wiki article links to a "booster bag"

The booster bag can be an ordinary shopping bag, backpack, pocketed garment, or other inconspicuous container whose inside is lined with a special material, typically multiple layers of aluminium foil.

An item is placed inside the booster bag (effectively a Faraday cage). Electronic security tags inside the bag may not be detected by security panels in the detector antennas at the store exit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booster_bag


Line the inside of a hat or his jacket with aluminium foil?

[Interference]

Originally Posted by fishii

If someone is talking and they have a flash back while talking (as in it's part of the dialogue) should it be in italics?

If the flash-back is outside of the speech, I'd probably do:

"If the flashback is-" his mind reeled with the effects of deja vu "-is outside... I've said this, haven't I?"

I haven't thought about whether it should be a capital H in this case, and suspect that there should be a comma after "vu".

If the flashback is in his words, then I wouldn't worry overly as long as the context makes it clear.

"If the flash-back is outside - Outside. I -- I was outside. It snowed. Five people with carrots for noses."

[fishii]

The flashback happens while she is telling a story to an audience, and I want it to be like it is happening but not awkward until the end when she starts to cry at the end and realizes that it was a memory and she is still in front of the audience. Would it be italicized there? Would I even need it to be in the dialogue even if she is telling it?

[Warren_Paul]

Originally Posted by fishii

The flashback happens while she is telling a story to an audience, and I want it to be like it is happening but not awkward until the end when she starts to cry at the end and realizes that it was a memory and she is still in front of the audience. Would it be italicized there? Would I even need it to be in the dialogue even if she is telling it?

I'd do it as italics.

Sorry Springs, but going to use your example again, it is a good one. here. This has a scene at the beginning where the PoV has a vision of the future, rather than the past, but same principle applies.

Also, sometimes you just have no choice but to tell, rather than show, just don't go overboard on it or treat the reader like they can't understand anything without you explaining it to them.

[springs]

No probs, WP
Fishii, somewhere, and someone who can do the thread linking tech (I haven't figured that out, if anyone wants to tell me I'd be delighted, there's a recent thread I started in GWD called internal thoughts which crossed over a bit to this and another one started by Hex called showing and telling - it's page 2 of the index -which crossed over to this as well.

[Ursa major]

Do you mean this thread, Springs?



If you do, it can be found here: internal thoughts.


EDIT: And WP has provided the link to hex's thread.

[Warren_Paul]

These the two you were meaning, Springs?

Internal Thoughts

Showing and telling and zombies