[rays and media]

[Matt Graham]

"Marcel Kunath" <kunathma@pilot.msu.edu> wrote:
> I am planning a trip on a plane and most likely I will be carrying on me 
> as hand luggage a bag to contain a hard drive with data on it and zip 
> disks.
> 
> Should I remove those from the bag before letting the bag slide through 
> the "xray" machine or does this stuff go unharmed?

Put 'em through the X-ray machine.  Keep them away from the walk-through metal
detector.  Y'see, the metal detector creates a reasonably strong magentic
field near the area you walk under, and this can mangle your magnetic media. 
Old-style floppies were most affected as the media had lower coercivity back
then.  X-ray machines just emit high-energy photons, no real magnetic flux
involved.  (Info mostly from _Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 11th Edition_ by
Scott Mueller.)

> Are they going to look at me suspiciously if I put a hard drive with my 
> keyset into the little handbasket? =)

Yes.  Actually, if you put a laptop through the X-ray machine, don't be
surprised if they expect you to turn it on.  Laptops are pretty densely
packed, they show up as thick black blocks potentially containing @FUNSTUFF on
X-ray machines.

And back in 1994, I made it through at least 2 security checkpoints in both
the Tulsa and Denver airports before discovering that I had 4 live .22 bullets
in my left jacket pocket.  Try not to think about that the next time you worry
about psychos hijacking your airplane ;-)

-- 
Matt G / Dances With Crows
There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see
"I backed up my brain to tape, but tar says the tape contains no data...."