Wednesday’s night’s episode of Lost was a clip job, leaving unanswered some burning questions about the show’s resident physicist, Daniel Faraday, that we hope will be answered soon.
One question that had occurred to me can be answered. Is Daniel a descendent of Michael Faraday, the 19th century English physicist, chemist and (until recently) featured star on the back of British 20-pound notes? The writers of Lost like to have fun with historical names (John Locke and Jeremy Bentham, for instance, and Daniel Faraday’s own mother, Eloise Hawking). But the original Faraday had a special interest in electromagnetism, so the thought crossed my mind: Could Daniel be his great-great-great-grandson?
Naw. Michael Faraday had a wife but no kids. So much for that, unless he was igniting someone else’s Bunsen burner on the side. But there may be another Faraday connection hidden in the science of “Lost.” At least one online denizen has speculated that “Faraday cages” have already — and will — play roles in the show.
Made from an electrically conducting material, such as metal, a Faraday cage blocks electromagnetic signals from entering or exiting the cage. Elevators often act as kind of Faraday cage, which explains why your cell phone doesn’t like to work in them; the outer shell of an airplane is another (lightning can hit plane’s structure but not fry everyone inside thanks to this phenomenon). Faraday cages can also be used to protect electronics from electromagnetic pulses, or stop electronics from leaking giveaway signals, so they are often found in military and aerospace hardware.
These days, Faraday cages are a hot topic in an unexpected field: privacy. RFID tags, those devices that track everything from library books to food products, are a major bugaboo for privacy activists. But you can prevent the tags from being detected by using a portable “RFID shield,” a very basic kind of Faraday cage. (This site sells credit-card shields for $9.99 in “five attractive colors.”)
By Randy Dotinga
April 25th, 2009 at 4:36 am
Oh, who cares? This show jumped the shark half way through episode two.
April 25th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
I don’t think we can answer that question. Lost is fiction. Fiction that, so far, has included miracle cures, resurrection, time travel, and lots of other bizarre and impossible (but entertaining) things. Would it really be a stretch for the show to say that the Daniel Faraday character was descended from Michael Faraday?
By the way, approximately 20 years ago I saw a fascinating display using Faraday Cages at a Science Museum in Boston. They had a giant Van De Graaff generator throwing impressive lightning bolts. The whole stage was inside a cage which protected the audience, and the operator was protected by another smaller cage inside the first one. If it is still there, it is well worth visiting.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
[...] This post was Twitted by valenzetti [...]
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:45 pm
(And let’s not forget Rousseau…)
But here’s my one question: last season, when Desmond found the young Daniel, he showed Desmond the rat maze. The rat navigated the maze then promptly died. So when did Daniel teach the rat to navigate the maze?
Oh..splitting hairs. Right…
May 11th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Another way to turn RFID cards on and off is by using Smart Tools’ RFID Shield. This prevents any unauthorized reading of RFID cards by blocking RF transmission to & from your card.. It is a card sleeve that you slide your card into, and it’s small so it fits in a wallet.
There’s more info and pictures at:
http://smarttools.home.att.net/rfshield.htm
May 18th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
physicist chemist
… Is Daniel a descendent of Michael Faraday, the 19th century English physicist, chemist and (until recently) featured star on the back of British 20-pound notes? The writers of Lost like to have fun with historical names (John Locke and … …
June 1st, 2009 at 9:57 am
faraday cage
You have got to be kidding!
November 5th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
hahaha… I normally don’t add reactions.. but this post kinda asked for it!! Keep it up
Cya from Greece