I’ve been very stressed lately and have been doing some window shopping to calm down. I’m interested in gadgets, but a lot of things can just be replaced with apps. I realize a phone won’t replace very large appliances like refrigerators or washing machines so I’m trying to scope my question to portable devices. So what are some portable devices or gadgets that their specialization hasn’t been replaced by smart phone apps? Extra points if they’re super useful and reliable.

  • Salamander@mander.xyz
    25·
    6 days ago

    Radiation detectors. Such as the Radiacode or the Open Gamma Detector.

    Binoculars are quite portable, very useful, and phones don’t do a good job at zooming in like that.

    Smart watches integrate with phones but the phones by themselves are not so good at measuring the heart rate and other parameters directly.

    Mini projectors. UV flashlights. Tools in general… There is so much actually. What type of gadgets are you looking for?

      • Salamander@mander.xyz
        3·
        5 days ago

        Ooh, cool! 😁 That detector seems to be working only in “Geiger mode”, which means that it can count the number of X-rays/Gamma particles but it does not estimate their energy. So, the dedicated devices are still better in that they allow you to identify the source of the radiation by measuring the counts and the energy distribution simultaneously.

        It probably would not be too difficult to build the open gamma detector into something like a pinephone. I don’t think that has been done yet.

      • Salamander@mander.xyz
        3·
        6 days ago

        My experience with phone zoom has been underwhelming so far, but I would like to check out the Samsung S2x’s 10x zoom when I have the chance!

        Still, I really like using binoculars because they transport me next to what I am looking at and do so in very high definition. I do have >100€ binoculars though, colors look very nice through them. I think it will be difficult to replicate via a screen.

        • Benaaasaaas@lemmy.world
          3·
          5 days ago

          Well the phone is a bit of a “jack of trades master of none”. You pretty much always will have a better time with a dedicated device, but the fact that the phone is always in your pocket is just so damn convenient.

    • Korhaka@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      4·
      6 days ago

      Can phones “detect” really high radiation on the camera if it’s high enough or is that film only?

        • ggtdbz@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          3·
          5 days ago

          What do you mean? Early apps was all stuff like this that nobody used. Nowadays apps are useful fintech services and photo filter apps that cost less than a coffee per month and fun free games that everyone can play, isn’t that much better?

          /s

      • Salamander@mander.xyz
        2·
        6 days ago

        Yes. The camera pixels generate a current in response to light. You can add some filters to block certain wavelengths of light (like UV) from getting to the camera sensor, and tune the pixels so that they respond more to to specific colors. But X-rays and gamma rays can just pass through the filter. Often they will pass through sensor as well, but, in the cases that they do get absorbed by the sensor, they can also produce a current that to the camera’s readout electronics looks like other light would.

        The gamma detectors I mentioned are very very sensitive. They respond to single X-ray/Gamma ray particles. These detectors can count how many individual particles collide with a small crystal cube every second. These crystals are special in that they produce a very tiny flash of light when an X-ray or gamma particle collides with them. As an added bonus, these sensors can directly measure the energy of the particles by measuring the strength of the flash, and from this information they can construct not only the total counts but also a spectrum. With this extreme sensitivity these detectors can measure small quantities of radiation that come from space, from rocks, and from other materials.

        I looked for a video of a phone going through an X-ray machine, and found these:

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8iSoPhtY3s

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1YaroH6lHA

        The white specks that you can see near second 25 (first video) and second 34 (second video) could be a result of the X-rays. I am not sure, but it seems reasonable to me. On contrast, when I put my radiacode through the X-ray machine in the airport the radiacode reacts very strongly and becomes saturated.