this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2023
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things that are mildlyinteresting

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None of the others in town have these, thought it was unusual enough to share

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Of course, it’s not the sound that blocks the wheel but the electromagnetic parasites that are produced by the coil in any speaker

What the fuck am I reading?

[–] zigmus64 12 points 9 months ago

I’m not an expert in electricity and magnetism by any stretch of the imagination, but the way that I understand it is with any electrical current, there is an induced magnetic field, and vice versa. So the little parasites the article is referring to are the magnetic fields induced by the current to play the audio in the speaker. That magnetic field is the signal that triggers the antitheft device.

[–] agent_flounder 9 points 9 months ago

I think they mean that the electromagnetic field generated by sending an alternating current through a coil (or just a wire) induces a current and electrical field on the conductor. I've heard the term "parasitic losses" caused by reactance but I've never heard parasite or parasitic related to generation of EM radiation.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Given the current behavior of autocorrect, I’m assuming that’s not the author’s fault. My brain has reached the point that it skips over that and just reads “currents.” I don’t know how you get from a typo for currents to become parasites, but I’ve seen even worse corrections in my writing.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

My guess would be "interference" that got autocorrected.