Flying with flashbulbs?

OK, I'm certain I won't use flashbulbs in the microwave.

THis is really interesting, and the only way I can think of finding out if the machines will kick off a flashbulb is to try it. Wouldn't think of packing it in baggage, gotta be carry-on.

Really time to ask TSA... and - of course - a TSA inspector can reject something not officially excluded... so, maybe foil filled flashlamps would be pretty freaky to him.

But I don't know if many of us will be flying with #2 or #3 lamps.... 25s or AG1s are plenty of light.

I'd love to shoot my old barn with 8x10 and some flashbulbs,
but I would ship the lamps ... and the camera, and film, and stuff... anyway,
and never try carry-on. Probably ship the lamps in their own box, and early enough to know if they were stolen, I mean, sidetracked by the officials. Interesting stuff guys.

d

I did ask TSA, and got an 'ok'. As for the x-ray machine, I suspect that any field strong enough to set off a flashbulb woud seriously fry most modern unshielded electronic chips. 3 volts is a lot of power by microelectronic standards.

DBP said:

I did ask TSA, and got an 'ok'. As for the x-ray machine, I suspect that any field strong enough to set off a flashbulb woud seriously fry most modern unshielded electronic chips. 3 volts is a lot of power by microelectronic standards.

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That is a very good point!

Do they pass computers through the x-ray or do they hand inspect?

That would give us a clue there. Although the resistors would probably tend to damp out any induced current to some extent, it could hurt a computer. OTOH, many parts are designed to withstand up to 5 volts.

PE

Laptop computers are put through the carry-on xray machines. You have to take them out of the bag they are in though.

egdinger said:

Laptop computers are put through the carry-on xray machines. You have to take them out of the bag they are in though.

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Absotively!

And let's not forget all those chips in your cell phone, iPod, DVD player, Blackberry, calculator and even those damned d....al cameras.

They'd all fry long before a flashbulb fired!

In the scary days here right after 9/11, my cell phone was going through an x-ray machine one to three times a day. If the energy had been at all significant I am sure it would have been fried.

Well, from the above information, I was 100% wrong then in bringing up the possibility.

Sorry.

PE

Only problem is that now I have an urge to put a flashbulb in the microwave.

Go ahead.. do it. We all want to know. Just make sure you quickly duck after pressing the 'cook' button!!

DBP said:

Only problem is that now I have an urge to put a flashbulb in the microwave.

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Please post the video on Youtube!

Lachlan

Back in the day, when I serviced consumer electronics, a commonly used device for visually testing the power distribution in microwave ovens was a grid of small neon lamps, embedded in a plastic tray. These were rather pricey if purchased new, so one could also build a homemade version simply by snipping off the wire legs of several neon bulbs, and fashioning a suitable plastic mount. They gave off a nice, flickering orange light, giving one a crude way of verifying even power distribution in the oven cavity.

But for actually measuring the microwave leakage through the door's choke seal, a properly calibrated microwave survey meter is really the only good way. Relying on any lamp or bulb for visual indication only ensures that you're measuring above the ionizing radiation level any leak large enough to light the lamp.

Federally mandated safety limits for microwave exposure is now below the ionizing level. Recent studies also show some biological effects below the ionizing level. For years, such studies were suppressed, back in the days when telecommunications were primarily via microwave relay towers, rather than fiber optics, as is more common now. Somehow, those who are positioned to profit the most have the privilege of ensuring that federal safety standards are set in their favor - or so it seems.

Regarding creative uses for flash bulbs, as I recall, the US Army/CIA manuals know as the "Improvised Munitions Blackbooks", published years ago, illustrates how effective these can be for use as detonators for IED's. I suppose the TSA doesn't want to hear about that, though. But if they ask, just tell them the US Government invented the idea in the first place.

Didzis said:

Is it a good idea to fly with flashbulbs? For example, is it possible that X-ray checks could ignite them? A suitcase fire would be a pretty nasty experience. Or probably airport officials believe that they are potential explosives and will refuse you to board the plane if they find any flashbulbs? With all the post-9/11 paranoia, the security regulations are somewhat tighter, and the fact that people in 1960ies probably flew quite happily with all the flashbulbs they would ever want does not mean that the same thing is possible today. What is your experience (if any)?

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I flew with 4 dozen bulbs to Vegas in 2005. Sure, I got pulled aside when my Graflex syncronizer showed up as a dense, cylindrical object in my carry-on through the x-ray machines. However, they didnt blink at the bulbs at all, just asked me what they were for and I told them. Went right on through and did the same thing coming back.

Flying with bulbs as carry on is no problem.

In the 1950s we were forbidden to carry flash bulbs as passengers in military aircraft. One flashbulb igniting in close proximity to others is said to be capable of igniting them. Just now an old 900 Watt microwave ignited an AG1 flashbulb in less than a second. A repeat test yielded the same result. A 120V 7 Watt bulb promptly burned out and continued to arc erratically

Back in the fifties I walked by a radar unit on a sub tied up along side I had a bag of flash bulbs and it fired them all and those were the old WWII powered radar units I kept the bulbs in their paper containers after that.