Re:Effect of radiation on computers

["Neil, David M" <NEILDM@inel.gov>]

     Michael Williamson writes:
     >Here is a question which I noticed on a usenet newsgroup and which
     >the poster  has asked me to send to radsafe:
     >
     >From: Jim Ronback (jronback@direct.ca)
     >
     >What is the effect of background ionizing radiation on commercial
     >computers?

     A few years ago, in response to a similar question concerning storage
     of disks in an above background area, I performed a casual experiment
     along these lines.  I irradiated a 3.5" floppy with every usable byte
     filled with a data pattern.  A small gamma check source was used,
     which exceeded the field in question by several orders of magnitude.
     The disk was constantly exposed, at the same place each time by use of
     registry marks on the case and disk hub, and data integrity was
     checked weekly against a control floppy by the DOS diskcomp command.
     Over a period of several months, no degradation of the data occurred.

     Dave Neil
     neildm@inel.gov

     Just my opinion; all the usual disclaimers apply.