I have lately noticed again that my laptop would sometimes shut itself off for no apparent reason. For a very long time I thought it was just cosmic rays (what else really?) that flipped bits in my computer, effectively shutting it off. At some point I figured out that there is a pattern to my computer shutting off. You know the saying: “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action”. (The enemy here being I, me, and myself)
I figured out that it was shutting off because my laptop uses an extremely sensitive Hall-effect sensor (sensors that can detect magnets) to detect whether the lid is open or closed, and every time I put something slightly magnetic next to it it would instantly shut off. Phones, tablets, keys, wallet… Not only laptops, but phones and tablets use Hall-effect sensors to turn off their screen when a case is used to cover their screen. If you have an old case, open it up. You will see magnets inside! How else would a phone know when to turn off the screen? (Ok, maybe with the front camera or some lightsensor, but you can accidentally cover that, so there is definitely some use to be found in a Hall-effect sensor)
Now, if you are the devious sort of person who is a lab accident away from becoming a supervillain or who simply likes to play with humans, I would suggest buying a very strong magnet (neodymium would be best) and place it somewhere in your palm or inside your shirt, jacket, or pullover cuff. Get close to some electronic device of your choice and voilà! You’ve corrupted their hard drive… Wait, what?! Oh, god what have I done… No! You’ve temporarily turned off their device of course! (hopefully). It won’t always work well, you need to first locate the sensor and this might require some awkward and possibly suspicious looking movements, but after that it should be a very easy trick to pull off. The best thing to do at this point would be to continue this trick for so long that your friends’ pattern recognizing brains think that you are somehow cursed and can magically shut off their stuff.
Until Next Time!
