Self-destruct

gisb0rne · #1 10-21-2006, 08:41 PM

Does anything have a self-destruct mechanism outside of TV shows? I see this gimmick all the time on TV yet I can't think of anything in real life that would actually use this. It seems totally impractical and the loss from accidental or ill-timed usage would likely be higher than the gain by keeping it out of enemy hands. Where did this concept first originate?

jaffa · #2 10-21-2006, 08:52 PM

according to this wikipedia article. Space shuttle booster rockets have a seld destruct mechanism to explode them incase they hurtle towards a populated area during an emergancy.

LuckOfTheDraw · #3 10-21-2006, 08:58 PM

I have a tendency to self-destruct.

gisb0rne · #4 10-21-2006, 08:58 PM

Yea that seems reasonable. I was thinking more along the lines of blowing up stuff that is perfectly useful simply to keep it away from the bad guys.

LuckOfTheDraw · #5 10-21-2006, 09:00 PM

[ QUOTE ]
according to this wikipedia article. Space shuttle booster rockets have a seld destruct mechanism to explode them incase they hurtle towards a populated area during an emergancy.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think spy planes and other stuff that contain sensitive information often have self-destruct mechanisms as well. Better to have just lose the information rather than have it fall into the wrong hands.

Warik · #6 10-21-2006, 09:50 PM

I'd be very disappointed if every advanced form military aircraft or vehicle we had didn't have some sort of self-destruct mechanism built in.

gisb0rne · #7 10-21-2006, 09:55 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I'd be very disappointed if every advanced form military aircraft or vehicle we had didn't have some sort of self-destruct mechanism built in.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm pretty sure most don't.

d10 · #8 10-21-2006, 10:22 PM

Black Hawks don't have anything that self destructs. There are certain things I would take a minute to destroy/erase on my own if I needed to.

By-Tor · #9 10-21-2006, 10:24 PM

too soon?

Arnfinn Madsen · #10 10-21-2006, 10:36 PM

There is quite a few electronic devices that is constructed so that they will stop to function under certain circumstance (even some are made to do so if they experience a power cut). It is sometimes done to avoid people to getting access to the technology or the configuration inside and sometimes for completely different reasons. It is not a dramatic explosion though (although in some cases an intentional overheat may be involved), just a lot of processes intended to destroy it. If you want top-tier security you also want to avoid people to figure out how your top-tier security works, so this is an integrated part.