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How a Helium Leak Disabled Every iPhone In a Medical Facility (vice.com) 290

dmoberhaus writes: In one of the strangest system admin tales of all time, one IT guy details how a new MRI machine managed to disable every single iPhone, Apple watch and iPad in a medical facility while leaving the rest of the devices untouched. Eric Woolridge, a system administrator at Morris Hospital in Illinois, said in a detailed post on the r/sysadmin subreddit that helium was to blame for the malfunctioning iPhones. "[T]he MRI installation involves supercooling the giant magnet in the machine by boiling off liquid helium," reports Motherboard. "This evaporated helium is usually pumped out of the facility through a vent, but this vent was leaking the helium into the rest of the facility. In all, about 120 liters of helium (or about 90,000 cubic meters in its gaseous state) was pumped out of the MRI room and an untold amount leaked into the rest of the hospital."

In a blog post, iFixit notes that helium atoms can wreak havoc on MEMS silicon chips. "MEMS are microelectromechanical systems that are used for gyroscopes and accelerometers in phones, and helium atoms are small enough to mess up the way these systems function," reports Motherboard. What's odd is that Android phones were not affected. Apparently, the reason "is because Apple recently defected from traditional quartz-based clocks in its phones in favor of clocks that are also made of MEMS silicon," reports Motherboard. "Given that clocks are the most critical device in any computer and are necessary to make the CPU function, their disruption with helium atoms is enough to crash the device."
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How a Helium Leak Disabled Every iPhone In a Medical Facility

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  • by Grog6 ( 85859 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @08:32PM (#57565643)

    They use PMT tubes, and helium will leak thru glass seals easily, which is what happened to these chips.

    They all changed frequency, and aren't working right. :)

    The PMT's will just arc internally, glowing a nice bright orange, if you could see them. :D

    It will drop the power supply rails, and there's no fixing the tubes, they'll have to be replaced.

    • Stop blaming Apple (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Wanna blame? Blame that cheapskate hospital that still using the antique version of crappy MRI machine

      They could have upgraded their MRI to new ones that do not need to consume so much liquid helium in the first place.

      http://mriquestions.com/liquid... [mriquestions.com]

      In fact, new types of MRI machine no longer require liquid helium !!

      You can expect the next generation of superconducting MR scanners to contain no cryogens at all. This is largely due to the development of efficient pulse tube and 2-stage Gifford-McMahon (G-M) cryocoolers that are able to maintain temperatures below the 9.4ÂK required for NbTi superconductivity without liquid helium

  • Seriously? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by msauve ( 701917 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @08:36PM (#57565659)
    Using MEMS instead of a quartz crystal is like using an inscribed candle instead of a pendulum. It's a major step in the wrong direction.

    Apple may have saved a whole 2 cents per $1000 phone by doing that.
    • Re:Seriously? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by MightyYar ( 622222 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @08:43PM (#57565693)

      It's more than just $$$, it's space. Instead of a discrete quartz crystal somewhere, they can etch a little resonator right on an existing chip.

      • Re:Seriously? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by msauve ( 701917 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @08:52PM (#57565733)
        Meh. You think removing the headphone jack gives more battery capacity, too. Right?

        "Space?" They charge a premium for the larger models. Go figure.
      • Right, right, why would anybody care if it can keep accurate time, or if it is reliable? It is just a toy, not a serious device.

    • Re:Seriously? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Wednesday October 31, 2018 @05:58AM (#57567183) Homepage Journal

      MEMS resonators are useful for a few reasons. They are now more stable over temperature than crystals, especially when combined with temperature control (TCXO). There is less phase noise too, very handy for RF purposes.

      Lots of Android phones do use MEMS oscillators though, e.g. in the cellular modem which is the same one used by Apple (made by Qualcomm or Intel). So either the MEMS oscillator is not the cause of the failure or the claim is not entirely correct.

      • by msauve ( 701917 )
        Citations needed. Because it's not that simple [epsondevice.com]. MEMS can be marginally more frequency stable only because of temperature compensation. Without, they're much worse. They have worse phase performance, not better.
        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Your link is 404... Initially MEMS was worse, that's true. But the latest generation devices are exceptional. A MEMS TCXO can get down to 0.1 PPM over temperature, e.g. SiT5356. For a crystal that would usually need an OCXO, which of course has insane power and space requirements.

          • by msauve ( 701917 )
            Sorry, try this. [epsondevice.com] I hate how the Google can make it hard to get an actual link.

            And, they're not using $50 oscillators in cell phones.
            • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

              Sure, my point was that MEMS can exceed crystals for some applications. As ever it's a trade off between price, physical size and manufacturing issues. I wasn't suggesting they use or need 0.1 PPM for a cellular modem.

    • by jwhyche ( 6192 )

      Oh come on. I'm sure the topic of "will this shit work if there is a He leak nearby" never came up in the design meetings. I can't fault apple for this issue.

  • They quit using quartz based clocks?

    Why?

    Oh, I know there will be some clever reason why the change is superior. This story just points out where 'clever' sometimes leads.

    So we can discreetly pop a canister of helium on the bus to kill all the iGadgets?

    • That's all.

    • They quit using quartz based clocks? Why?

      (in my best Cowardly Lion voice) Courage!

  • Cool... (Score:5, Funny)

    by b0s0z0ku ( 752509 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @08:44PM (#57565703)

    Obviously the helium concentration wasn't very high -- people could breathe and talk without sounding like Alvin the Chipmunk. I wonder if this can be exploited to mess with iPhone-owning hipsters at a party -- a balloon inflator sized helium tank and the appropriate valve orifice should do it...

    OMG! My phone just died! *head explodes*

    • You'd need to find something that would mess with all of the different phone brands. People at parties who are checking their phones need to learn how to interact with other people.
    • After reading this article, my first thoughts were to wonder whether Party City employees have to avoid iPhones to have a usable cell phone at work, and whether customers walking through stores like that ever have their iPhone die on them. The last time I was in a Party City, they had an employee filling balloons almost non-stop, and every now and then one would explode while being filled.

  • by ZorinLynx ( 31751 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @08:49PM (#57565715) Homepage

    If the helium concentration was high enough to affect phones this way, they're lucky it didn't displace too much oxygen and freaking kill people.

    They really should have sensors to detect these conditions in places where large amounts of gas is used.

    • It sounds like the concentration required to affect phones wasn't very high. Though this can be verified experimentally -- anyone want to donate their iDevice? :D
    • They really should have sensors to detect these conditions in places where large amounts of gas is used.

      They did. iPhones.

    • If the helium concentration was high enough to affect phones this way, they're lucky it didn't displace too much oxygen and freaking kill people.

      They really should have sensors to detect these conditions in places where large amounts of gas is used.

      They do. They have sensors, and alarms, and they are taken seriously. I'm not bashing, but I have training and work around MRI equipment about once a month. Standard is for the room to be negative pressure vented. Likely, the vent had a leak in a different area with no sensors. It pobably crossed through a wall and leaked above the T-bar ceiling in a hallway or some other room. It's an unfortunate corner case, and one that should be taken into account; but not a horror story.

    • by guruevi ( 827432 )

      That's what I was thinking too, Helium is naturally occuring in the air in various concentrations for various reasons. To penetrate a sufficient percentage (even if we want ~1% of the air to be Helium) across an ENTIRE hospital into people's pockets, into the devices itself into sealed chips, you have to practically circulate the helium throughout the entire building and swap out all the air for the entire building with 1% Helium air.

      And on the other hand, Helium is non-reactive, the same size as Hydrogen a

    • by mysidia ( 191772 )

      they're lucky it didn't displace too much oxygen and freaking kill people.

      Helium doesn't really displace air -- helium is lighter than air. And the concentration must have been very low, otherwise people would have noticed.

      This is clearly an engineering defect in Apple's product that a slightly elevated helium level will cause malfunctioning.

    • by DerekLyons ( 302214 ) <fairwater@gmai l . c om> on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @11:57PM (#57566399) Homepage

      If the helium concentration was high enough to affect phones this way, they're lucky it didn't displace too much oxygen and freaking kill people.

      Yeah, there's a ton of holes in the story. In the linked article, he admits his test used a far higher concentration of He than would have been possible in the hospital. Plus, if you actually follow up on the kinks... you find the story doesn't tell the whole truth, there were other devices that experienced glitches. And someone else points out that all the Apple devices in question use inductive charging.

      So, there's a whole lot of assumptions going on.

    • by sjames ( 1099 )

      Evidently the concentration need not be that high.

      This PDF [scirp.org] testing the effects of helium on various MEMS suggests (doing a bit of math) that a few hundred ppm helium in the air could be enough. Normal atmosphere has 5 ppm. Meanwhile, replacing 10% of the air (100,000 ppm) wouldn't have much effect on humans as long as they don't attempt aerobic exercise (based on the safety of oxygen depleted data centers).

    • It takes only *tiny* amounts of helium to have a measurable effect, far, far below the levels that you would need to cause any consequential change in oxygenation. A few PPM can do it, depending on the device.

  • by hcs_$reboot ( 1536101 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @08:55PM (#57565757)
    Helium detector.
  • Gyro & Accelerometer don't need exposure to the atmosphere... air pressure sensor perhaps?

    Lots of light headed Mickey Mouse voices in radiology that day too no?

    • If you RTFS to the end, you'll see that the problem was actually the clock. Not sure why the clock needs air exposure though.
    • by raymorris ( 2726007 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @09:40PM (#57565939) Journal

      Helium goes right through solid objects.
      Plastics have molecules, and holes between molecules, about 25,000 times larger than a helium atom. Helium gas is normally single atoms, not molecules.

      That's the challenge with helium hard drives. If you try to use a typical rubber seal, the holes between rubber molecules are much larger than helium atoms, allowing the helium to go right through almost as if the rubber wasn't there.

      You may have noticed a helium balloon stops floating overnight. That's because the helium goes out right through the rubber. Interestingly, air leaks INTO the balloon due to something called partial pressure.

      • by guruevi ( 827432 )

        If that were the case, oxygen would also affect the devices given those atoms are slightly bigger, highly reactive and much more present in the air.

        • You're right, oxygen is highly reactive. So much so that it is basically only found as part of molecule of one sort or another, and molecules of any sort are much less adept at squeezing through interstitial gaps or performing barrier tunneling tricks.
        • by jaa101 ( 627731 ) on Wednesday October 31, 2018 @12:17AM (#57566455)

          If that were the case, oxygen would also affect the devices given those atoms are slightly bigger,

          Oxygen in the air is O2, i.e., two atoms stuck together in a molecule. Helium is just a single tiny atom. He has a radius of 31pm. O has a radius of 48nm but the bond length in O2 is 121pm. It's much harder for O2 to leak through gaps on other molecules than He.

        • by sjames ( 1099 )

          TYhe O2 molecules are significantly bigger, which is why they don't diffuse through the seals in the device like He does.

      • I'm guessing you don't have young children. Helium balloons these days last a week, easy. I think the material is mylar?
        • by burtosis ( 1124179 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @11:28PM (#57566319)

          I'm guessing you don't have young children. Helium balloons these days last a week, easy. I think the material is mylar?

          It's not the base polymer (PET) that is impermeable to gas, it's the metal coating that is vapor deposited over it. That has much smaller holes and acts to contain the helium.

          • And that's why the thing is shiny, and anti-static, and gas impermeable. Damn. Crystal structure for the win, every time.
      • Helium goes right through solid objects. Plastics have molecules, and holes between molecules, about 25,000 times larger than a helium atom. Helium gas is normally single atoms, not molecules.

        Helium gas is always single atoms, except for extraordinarily unusual circumstances [wikipedia.org] which assuredly were not in play here.

      • by sjames ( 1099 )

        Actually, air doesn't diffuse into the balloon. It's just that helium for filling balloons is actually heli-air so kids don't die when they inhale it ( not to mention it's cheaper).

  • by mentil ( 1748130 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @09:13PM (#57565839)

    He ruined my phone, how dare He?! What have I ever done to He?

  • by Anonymous Coward

    Reminder that helium is mined from the earth, can not be recovered once it's in the atmosphere, and until we start fusing hydrogen atoms, is non-renewable.

    If it has important industrial applications, why are we still filling balloons at children's parties with it?

    • by guruevi ( 827432 )

      Perhaps we should fill them with hydrogen :D

    • by mentil ( 1748130 )

      Balloons are now filled with 'balloon gas' which is only part helium. Last time this came up on Slashdot, someone pointed out that Helium is basically given away free by the US Govt. because it's a byproduct of mining other stuff and they have little need for it.

  • Hey Siri... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Joseph Lam ( 61951 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @09:35PM (#57565923)

    Siri (in elevated voice): What can I help you with?

  • For that whole week, everyone in that hospital sounded hilarious.

  • Can't blame Apple (Score:4, Informative)

    by viperidaenz ( 2515578 ) on Tuesday October 30, 2018 @10:07PM (#57566037)

    The user manual says gases like helium can damage the phone.

    exposing iPhone to environments having high concentrations of industrial chemicals, including near evaporating liquified gasses such as helium, may damage or impair iPhone functionality

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by d0ran$ ( 844234 )

      Source:

      https://help.apple.com/iphone/... [apple.com] ...
      Explosive and other atmospheric conditions Charging or using iPhone in any area with a potentially explosive atmosphere, such as areas where the air contains high levels of flammable chemicals, vapors, or particles (such as grain, dust, or metal powders), may be hazardous. Exposing iPhone to environments having high concentrations of industrial chemicals, including near evaporating liquified gasses such as helium, may damage or impair iPhone functionality. Obey al

    • Re:Can't blame Apple (Score:4, Interesting)

      by DNS-and-BIND ( 461968 ) on Wednesday October 31, 2018 @12:21AM (#57566467) Homepage
      That's hilarious - the company that eliminated reading the manual buries product disclaimers in the manual that they don't intend anyone to read.
    • Wow. TIL the iPhone has a user manual.

  • Mobile phones should not be taken into a facility with a MRI machine anyway.
    The radio waves emitted from the phone could interfere with the MRI machine's sensitive sensors ... which is why every such facility has "No cell phones" signs in every room and corridor.

    The phones will not emit only when in "use", but will regularly try to connect to the nearest cell tower even when "off". Therefore, it is best not to bring it there at all.

    • Mobile phones should not be taken into a facility with a MRI machine anyway.

      The phones were nowhere near the MRI. The Helium leaked out of the MRI facility and into the surrounding areas, according to the article.

  • This evaporated helium is usually pumped out of the facility through a vent, but this vent was leaking the helium into the rest of the facility.

    (a) Why isn't the helium captured rather than simply vented/released? It doesn't grow on trees.
    (b) People can die if the helium concentration gets too high. Having it leak into a fucking hospital seems rather care/reckless.

  • by HMS_Hexapuma ( 5606219 ) on Wednesday October 31, 2018 @03:57AM (#57566905)
    Background: I'm on the technical team for a research unit that has an MRI machine of its own and access to another. Plus I do Helium refills for an MEG facility. This does not ring true. An MRI is going to have something like 500L of liquid helium in it. It doesn't cool by "Boiling it off". In fact a high boil-off rate is a bad thing. The unit will have a chiller to keep the temperature of the helium down and probably a recondenser to reduce loss. If the unit quenched during install then all the helium will have boiled off. A lot more than 120L. Also the vents are certified so that *All* the helium that boils off goes up and out safely. Add to that all these facilities have O2 alarm systems, this must have been a very small, slow leak over the course of months. Any leaking helium will have risen straight up to the ceiling and spread out, maybe working its way up into cracks and passing to above floors at a massively reduced concentration. At the levels we're talking about here, if the helium were the problem then we'd be seeing a spate of iPhone failures at children's parties from the helium in the balloons.
    • by Anonymous Coward

      I think it's more likely that an electromagnetic pulse fried the Apple products. The MRI 5-gauss line is only applicable in steady state operations. When the 500-1000a current in the super conducting coils ramps up or down, it's got a hell of a kick. Leave the electronics in the car when they come to re-charge the coils.

  • by Ihlosi ( 895663 ) on Wednesday October 31, 2018 @05:08AM (#57567061)
    ... when applied to other peoples expensive Apple gadgets.

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