I said I was pretty sure it wasn't an EMP that knocked out the satellite dish. Looks like I was wrong at least as far as the show goes. Unfortunately, it would appear that TPTB fudged the laws of physics a bit to allow the satellite to be toast but not the computer. I'm forced at this point to view scientific explanations of things to be just fun side notes except where it is clearly a clue.

For any PTB that might potentially be reading this--you patently missed the science on that one.

Yeah, that was bugging me.
Error, or clue?

Yeah, that was bugging me.
Error, or clue?

Error--plain and simple. Computers use metal oxide semiconductors (MOS) that are extraordinarily sensitive to this. An EMP would have fried every piece of computer equipment in that building. Even if that station was the functional equivalent of a Faraday Cage (which CAN shield you from an EMP), the wiring coming in from the power and the dish would have acted as an antenna channeling the energy in and sent the computer to the island landfill. You don't repair computers hit by an EMP. You recycle them at best.

Error--plain and simple. Computers use metal oxide semiconductors (MOS) that are extraordinarily sensitive to this. An EMP would have fried every piece of computer equipment in that building. Even if that station was the functional equivalent of a Faraday Cage (which CAN shield you from an EMP), the wiring coming in from the power and the dish would have acted as an antenna channelling the energy in and sent the computer to the island landfill.

I think you are right div2n. I suppose it's possible that there may be some explanation. Maybe the signal from the satellite dish is first processed by another computer before being sent along a fibre-optic cable, through the Faraday cage. However that's very far-fetched. I think you're right, it's an error.

I think you are right div2n. I suppose it's possible that there may be some explanation. Maybe the signal from the satellite dish is first processed by another computer before being sent along a fibre-optic cable, through the Faraday cage. However that's very far-fetched. I think you're right, it's an error.

Nope, we saw lots of copper, but no fiber optics at the flame. Also, even if there were fiber optic cables, the EMP would have fried everything, not just the computer. All the spare components on the shelves at the Flame and every other electrical device on the island. The radios used on the Hydra also would have been destroyed, and the CCTV cameras used to spy on people, etc. This is a very, very, very huge mistake on TPTB if they were looking for scientific realism.

A computer has to be plugged in for an emp to affect it. It doesnt fry things that are not connected. Think of it like an electrical surge

whatever the explanation the writers use will be fine--this is fiction. But There are plenty of ways to explain why somethings work and other dont--including shielding from surges.

BTW..the planes that dropped the Abombs on Japan didnt crash. Something to do with the emp not affecting things above a certain altitude.

It is funny how everyone was saying no EMP, (Just as Time travel). When it was obvious some kind of surge knocked out communiations(even local communication)

A computer has to be plugged in for an emp to affect it. It doesnt fry things that are not connected. Think of it like an electrical surge

This is incorrect. Even if you were to unplug the computer, you still aren't safe. The only way to completely protect a computer (regardless of whether it is turned on or not) is to have it on it's own power source and be in a shielded environment. In other words, a totally self contained environment where absolutely no wires come in from the outside world.

To see an example of what I'm talking about, check out Gene Hackman's setup in "Enemy of the State".

With this program it could be either error or clue. I for one have to think that communications were down but not toast. I think that everyone on that island for one reason or another lies and we have to assume that the truth is only given out "piecemeal"

Error--plain and simple. Computers use metal oxide semiconductors (MOS) that are extraordinarily sensitive to this. An EMP would have fried every piece of computer equipment in that building. Even if that station was the functional equivalent of a Faraday Cage (which CAN shield you from an EMP), the wiring coming in from the power and the dish would have acted as an antenna channeling the energy in and sent the computer to the island landfill. You don't repair computers hit by an EMP. You recycle them at best.

There were an awful of lot of circuit boards lying around the room containing the functioning computer... If the flame was supposed to be a communication hub, and they knew about what could happen if the code wasn't entered (they have had an 'incident' before) then I would expect them to take precautions against it, as much as possible.

If we can trust Mikhail, did he say the satellite dish hadn't worked for years, whereas the beacon used by the submarine had only been out of action for two weeks - since Desmond turned the key.

There were an awful of lot of circuit boards lying around the room containing the functioning computer... If the flame was supposed to be a communication hub, and they knew about what could happen if the code wasn't entered (they have had an 'incident' before) then I would expect them to take precautions against it, as much as possible.

If we can trust Mikhail, did he say the satellite dish hadn't worked for years, whereas the beacon used by the submarine had only been out of action for two weeks - since Desmond turned the key.

You just provided the "out" that I was talking about in another thread. If the basement was a Faraday Cage and spare parts were kept there, then that would explain things a bit. Although not completely.

In the end, I'm forced to give them a pass and let them "yadda yadda ya" over this detail.

Just curious, was it stated (in the show) that it was an EMP? I can't recall at the moment...