link to reuters

http://infoseek.go.com/Content?arn=a3704reuff-19990729&qt=power+and+transformers&sv=IS&lk=noframes&col=NX&kt=A&ak=news1486

Unknown at this time why the whole island shut down.

report says the grid went down, the automatic response is to shut down the 3 nuclear reactors.

-- Living in (the@real.world), July 29, 1999

Answers

Apologies, it is posted (23 million affected) (searched utilities and explosions- did not see it there) this post is under the category of utilities.

-- Living in (the@real.world), July 29, 1999.

I think I would keep and eye on this story !!

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), July 29, 1999.

Mr. Living in

13 posts below yours...titled It's Hot and the economy is...I endeavored to explain to Louis why the embeded systems will begin to fail in a staggered sequence...This might help explain the why of you post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Shakey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-- Shakey (in_a_bunker@forty.feet), July 29, 1999.

Shakey,

I don't have any technical expertise in the area of embeddeds but I always figured that because they are custom systems that go up in custom fashion that they will fail in a staggered way.

Do you think that this is black out is the result of this kind of failure?

Also, can you offer insight into the fact that much type testing is currently being done which could be very dangerous considering that not all embedded systems are made with the same components, etc?

The closest analogy I can think of is that many PCs are made with third party components and one name brand PC sitting right next to another "identical" PC of the same manufacturer may well have different components in them.

I've heard that this is true of embedded systems. Is it?

Thanks,

Mike

============================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), July 30, 1999.

Michael

Any large industrial complex that has been built in say the last thirty years has been an international effort...meaning the the switch gear , motors, subset black boxes; all can and do come from all over the world. Even the communist block countries (of that day) To answear your question, yes you can have three mother boards...one in a black box and two spare replacements for it...and the chips will not be of the same manufactor in any of the three,,,but the boards will all fit into the black box(PLC).

The vendor/maker of the mother board receives a order from the manufactor of shall we say motors that have been ordered for the Ball mills of a coal-fired co-generation station.. The vendor is given the specics for what they want. He then determine what he needs to do the job, then sees what he has on hand that he can use...there are so many univeral type chips that they could not be counted out there. Next, if he needs chips he'll call up a broker to see what is available..The best sence of it I think would be to watch the Flick "Small Soldiers" In effect, you can use a chip for other than it's intended purpose when manufactored...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Shakey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-- Shakey (in_a_bunker@forty.feet), July 30, 1999.

Thanks Shakey : )

Although, since Small Soldiers is one of my son's favorite movies, I'm not at all comforted thinking about how those things went crazy!!!

Mike

==================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), July 30, 1999.

Did anyone ever consider that China might be using an Electromagnetic Bomb (I know that they were discussed on this forum before) Supposedly they disrupt any source of electrical machinery. It was just a couple of weeks ago when someone announced that China had developed this technology.... personally, this might be the REAL reason that Taiwan's power was cut... although I will not deny that it could have been attributed to Y2K.... just doin' some thinkin' Thanx for reading...

-- Jake Ryder (_treegod@excite.com), July 30, 1999.

No embedded systems failure, no high tech chinese bomb, just a simple mecanical failure.

from Reuters News Page: http://www.reuters.com/news/

"Lai said the blackout that struck around 11:30 p.m. (1530 GMT) may have been triggered by the collapse of a high-pressure electricity tower in southern Taiwan in a landslide, which triggered a chain reaction through the power grid. "

-- Malcolm Taylor (taylorm@es.co.nz), July 30, 1999.

Malcolm,

just goes to prove the doomer point - multiple failures from multiple sources - multiple failures from scenarios that haven't even been thought about yet - this doesn't exactly give one much confidence does it - remember the 1 day outage in san Francisco last year caused by a couple of mice doing a pas de deux on a circuit breaker box?... it won't be pretty...

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), July 30, 1999.

Hi, Andy;

Glad to see you are back. What' new?

-- Bill P (porterwn@one.net), July 30, 1999.