Post by SeaRat on Jan 5, 2007 18:29:28 GMT -8
Mossback,
The U.S. Navy needed non-magnetic regulators for the UDT (Underwater Demolition Teams) and EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) teams who handled mines based upon magnatism (there are many types, and some are combination mines; contact & magnetism, for instance). Once these mines are set up, they are very, very sensitive to magnetic signatures (fields). Anything that gets in the field that is also magnetic disrupts the field, which is sensed, and sets off the mine. Since they work at very close range to the mine, especially if they are trying to get inside it to disable it (EOD teams do that kind of work), they need to have all their equipment made so as to not have a magnetic signature to the mine. Magnetic fields will pass right through non-magnetic objects, so this is very important to the success of their mission. Brass is non-magnetic, from what I can tell. But it does need a coating to prevent corrosion. So the Navy specified that gold be used as the coating. These regulators were never released to the civilian market commercially, but they have been pilfered and sold in various places over the years; currently E-Bay is the way that they are sold. Here is what Wikipedia says about the metals:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetism
Here's a bit of the history of EOD:
www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n75/Htm/ConceptDocs/Navy_USMC/MWP4thEd/appendix_i.htm
You really don't want anything magnetic if you are in the position of the diver in the photo down the page a bit.
John
The U.S. Navy needed non-magnetic regulators for the UDT (Underwater Demolition Teams) and EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) teams who handled mines based upon magnatism (there are many types, and some are combination mines; contact & magnetism, for instance). Once these mines are set up, they are very, very sensitive to magnetic signatures (fields). Anything that gets in the field that is also magnetic disrupts the field, which is sensed, and sets off the mine. Since they work at very close range to the mine, especially if they are trying to get inside it to disable it (EOD teams do that kind of work), they need to have all their equipment made so as to not have a magnetic signature to the mine. Magnetic fields will pass right through non-magnetic objects, so this is very important to the success of their mission. Brass is non-magnetic, from what I can tell. But it does need a coating to prevent corrosion. So the Navy specified that gold be used as the coating. These regulators were never released to the civilian market commercially, but they have been pilfered and sold in various places over the years; currently E-Bay is the way that they are sold. Here is what Wikipedia says about the metals:
In physics, magnetism is one of the phenomena by which materials exert an attractive or repulsive force on other materials. Some well known materials that exhibit easily detectable magnetic properties are iron, some steels, and the mineral lodestone; however, all materials are influenced to greater or lesser degree by the presence of a magnetic field.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetism
Here's a bit of the history of EOD:
www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n75/Htm/ConceptDocs/Navy_USMC/MWP4thEd/appendix_i.htm
You really don't want anything magnetic if you are in the position of the diver in the photo down the page a bit.
John