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That is one of the problems, since it is handy for kids to have cellphones, in order to get messages, allow parents to track them, etc.
My son's former boarding school instituted a policy that said all cellphones had to be turned in to their housemaster/housemistress before classes started in the morning and wouldn't be returned until after the last class of the day. Students were getting around this by the simple expedient of purchasing a second phone (often paid for by their parents).

I remember speaking to the Headmaster about this and he said that no matter what rule the school put in place the kids were always two steps ahead of them.
 
My son's former boarding school instituted a policy that said all cellphones had to be turned in to their housemaster/housemistress before classes started in the morning and wouldn't be returned until after the last class of the day. Students were getting around this by the simple expedient of purchasing a second phone (often paid for by their parents).

I remember speaking to the Headmaster about this and he said that no matter what rule the school put in place the kids were always two steps ahead of them.
Can either of you help clarify?

Faraday cage
n.
A container made of a conductor, such as wire mesh or the metal frame of an aircraft, forming an equipotential shield around what it encloses and protecting it from external electric fields. Also called Faraday shield.
[AfterMichael FARADAY, who constructed one in 1836.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.


Perhaps you've seen B&W vid of a person inside one of these while high voltage, synthetic lightning is applied to the outside.
The notion being, if during construction of a school building electrical conductor is built into the external shell of the building, would that block cell-phone signals?
I thought it should, but it seems (even if against FAA regs) passengers at altitude can use cell-phones to communicate with Earth. Todd Beemer comes to mind.

I figured by now they were building cinemas like that. Apparently not?

My reason for asking: if that worked, inside the Faraday school the smartphone becomes a PDA (remember "Palm Pilot"?).

Reportedly occasionally an airliner is stricken by lightning mid-flight. It seems passengers & crew are spared electrical shock from lightning *, but that delicate avionics can succumb to the voltage transient, EMP.

* From the Aluminum skin on the fuselage. Not sure what happens if they switch to Carbon fiber.
 
Can either of you help clarify?

Faraday cage
n.
A container made of a conductor, such as wire mesh or the metal frame of an aircraft, forming an equipotential shield around what it encloses and protecting it from external electric fields. Also called Faraday shield.
[AfterMichael FARADAY, who constructed one in 1836.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.


Perhaps you've seen B&W vid of a person inside one of these while high voltage, synthetic lightning is applied to the outside.
The notion being, if during construction of a school building electrical conductor is built into the external shell of the building, would that block cell-phone signals?
I thought it should, but it seems (even if against FAA regs) passengers at altitude can use cell-phones to communicate with Earth. Todd Beemer comes to mind.

I figured by now they were building cinemas like that. Apparently not?

My reason for asking: if that worked, inside the Faraday school the smartphone becomes a PDA (remember "Palm Pilot"?).

Reportedly occasionally an airliner is stricken by lightning mid-flight. It seems passengers & crew are spared electrical shock from lightning *, but that delicate avionics can succumb to the voltage transient, EMP.

* From the Aluminum skin on the fuselage. Not sure what happens if they switch to Carbon fiber.

I am not an expert, but I believe you can use a cellphone in a metal airplane because the metal is passive and just transmits the signal through at full strength.
What you need to do is weaken the signal.
And what I understand works is to shorten the antenna, with a bundle of short metal wires like mesh.
In fact, I believe that powdered metal would work the best.
 
"Good point in that I got hooked on Pinterest, and not only are the short videos addictive, but you can just keep scrolling forever.
I lose track of time constantly." R5 #157
Washington Post
Parents say teens are addicted to social media. Now, a jury will decide.
Naomi Nix, (c) 2026 , The Washington Post Mon, January 26, 2026 at 6:36 PM GMT-5
For years, parents alleged that top social media companies had gotten teens hooked on their products with addictive design features, arguing in legal filings that these choices led to depression, anxiety, eating disorders and, in some tragic circumstances, death.
These stories helped spur a sweeping regulatory movement that has led states and governments around the world to pass laws restricting teens’ use of social media and forced tech companies to take bolder actions to protect young people.

"Bad Bunny plans to wear a dress ..." #160
In one of the most expensive advertising venues in the solar system?

Why?

If it wasn't effective publicity, would it be focus of discussion here now?
 
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