On Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:26:53 -0700 (PDT), Stanley Schaefer
wrote:

On Apr 17, 11:01*pm, wrote:
Speculation is that the bombs were set off by cell phone. I wonder if
a cell signal would penetrate the metal of a pressure cooker. Mine
barely works in my metal shop building; with the doors open. Any
experts want to weigh in?

All pressure cookers have holes in the lid for both a relief valve and
the cooker's weight spike. A wire could be run out either hole for an
antenna OR some kind of external trigger, timer, radio remote, mercury
switch, whatever.

I wonder what kind of insulative space needs to be kept for a cell
phone antenna through the lid so it doesn't short.


A high school kid could set it up and have it work,
no special genius-level explosives knowledge needed. There's a wide
variety of possible triggers, cell phones tend to be used in the -
stans because that's the fanciest electronics most folks have access
to and they tend to be fairly cheap. Lots more possibilities here
where there are a lot more RF-controlled devices. Or there's the
classic windup alarm clock trigger.

That's the problem with terrorism. There are so many possibles, they
can seldom be accounted for enough to prevent the act from happening.

--
Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplacable spark.

In the hopeless swamps of the not quite, the not yet, and
the not at all, do not let the hero in your soul perish
and leave only frustration for the life you deserved, but
never have been able to reach.

The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real,
it is possible, it is yours.
-- Ayn Rand