Are metal detectors bad for ipods, laptops and/or other gadgets?
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 at
12:06 am
There's a persistent urban legend (or rumor) that goes around about letting certain electronic gadgets go through metal detectors. It is said that your laptop or iPod will short-circuit, or go through abnormal operations if you let a hand-held or free-standing metal detector pass over or through it. Is this true? Does something bad happen to any of these electronic gadgets pass through these security check points in the airports or malls?
Tagged with: airports • electronic gadgets • laptop • malls • metal detector • metal detectors • security check • short circuit • urban legend
Filed under: Free Electronic Circuits
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Metal detectors work by sending electricity through a coil. All electricity passing through a wire causes a magnetic field. Magnets can damage hard drives but the amount of current used in a metal detector is very low so it's unlikely.
iPods that don't use a hard drive would not be affected in any way. Plus if that were true, there would probably be some kind of law suit if they damaged equipment but didn't put up a warning at the airports. I'd file that under the rumour category unless there is some kind of seriously malfunctioning metal detector out there.
I haven't heard of any damage from it.
When I asked they said it wouldn't bother them.
It didn't bother my laptop.