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Shouln't every miner have some sort of gadget or radio or transmitter that allows their location to be pinpointed in case of a mining cave in?

Is having such a law or regulation so bad?

2007-08-18 08:53:04 · 22 answers · asked by bush l 1 in Politics & Government Politics

22 answers

Apparently, after the tragedy in West Virginia, mines are required to equip miners with radios--but not for another 2 years! It's amazing what mining companies are able to get away with!

2007-08-18 09:03:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

I haven't even read any of the other answers.... I am willing to bet that these people are all tearing you up over the fact that radio waves could not travel Thur that much earth...

The transmitter idea is a good one. Like the transmitter I ware when I am skying. If I stop moving for a period of time, it starts transmitting a "beacon" so to speak. If the six miners had such a device, when they drilled into the mine, they would be able to pick it up, and probably be able to locate it by how strong the signal is.

2007-08-18 16:02:21 · answer #2 · answered by and,or,nand,nor 6 · 0 0

Wireless communications don't work well with large obstructions (like the ground) between devices. Look at your cell phone's signal outside and then go into your basement or an underground parking garage and you'll watch your signal get weaker - and that's only 10 to 15 feet. The mine in Utah, for example, is over 1000 feet deep.

You could have wired communication (like phones) or set up repeaters that bounce the signals from local antenna to antenna. However, if there is a cave-in chances are you'll lose those connections.

Hope that helps.

2007-08-18 15:59:26 · answer #3 · answered by James 3 · 0 0

Radio frequencies used for hand held radios (UHF and VHF) propagate best through air. The rock underground is to dense to allow standard VHF or UHF frequencies to go anywhere. So, even if they had radios, the range will be very short.
In order to use radio under ground, the frequency must be very low, calling for pretty huge antennae to receive those frequencies, and even if miners were equipped with such radios, pinpointing direction would be very difficult due to echoing of the signal.

2007-08-18 16:12:25 · answer #4 · answered by Peter S 1 · 1 0

Who are the retards who are giving all the thumbs-downs to the people saying that radios don't work underground?

Um, radios DON'T work under thousands of feet of solid rock.

There are a couple things you could try maybe, like boring holes into the mine from the surface and running cables through reinforced conduits, but given the likelihood of the ground shifting, the cables would probably not last very long before they became severed.

2007-08-18 16:53:33 · answer #5 · answered by pr0ph3t1cl1v1ty 5 · 1 0

Radio's do not work underground unless there is a way in from the outside like the bore holes they have drilled and put microphones through.

2007-08-18 15:59:14 · answer #6 · answered by London Catlover 4 · 0 0

Radios don't work under the ground or inside a mountain sport.
What "gadget" did you have in mind?
Maybe a magic gadget or a star trek transporter beam.
That would probably work.

2007-08-18 15:59:31 · answer #7 · answered by hoovarted 7 · 1 0

Yes they should. The technology is available and we are the richest country in the world yet our miners are not even fitted with tracking devices or radios even when these accidents are a known risk.

2007-08-18 16:04:38 · answer #8 · answered by Lindsey G 5 · 0 1

Radios, as has been mentioned, wouldn't work. You could put in a telephone line, but it would run the risk of being severed in any sort of collapse or disaster.

2007-08-18 15:58:37 · answer #9 · answered by B.Kevorkian 7 · 1 0

Ever drive thru a tunnel while talking on the phone? What happens? The call drops. Radios don't transmit thru a mountain.

2007-08-18 15:57:36 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1 1

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