By Hairuo Yi |Staff Writer|
In the wake of the Samsung phone accident explosion, more and more people are starting to be aware of safety issues with new technology.
Several students who are familiar with Samsung phones say that the Samsung Note 7 exploding was not so unexpected.
“I wasn’t surprised at all, my phone get’s really hot,” said Samsung user Ashlee Burton.
This accident is becoming a serious problem for Samsung, and not just a insignificant mistake of technology.
“Everybody can make mistakes, but these are really big ones,” said Computer Science professor, Ernesto Gomez.
Computer Science professor, Haiyan Qiao, also thinks the Note 7 accidents are attracting attention on safety issues for new technology.
“It once again brought our attention to the safety issue of electronic devices and house appliances. Not focusing only on the functionality, but more on product safety and quality control that is needed in the design and manufacturing,” said Qiao.
Some professors mention that people should be aware of the smartphone batteries.
“I guess people may not realize that the lithium battery itself is flammable,” said Computer Science professor Yunfei Hou.
Gomez said the lithium batteries have very high energy density and that is the reason the tiny battery can store much more power.
“If there is a flaw of any kind in the battery, the energy is going to come out somehow. There is an internal short circuit and they will heat up,” said Gomez.
“I worry about my phone all the time. I won’t put my phone on my bed when it is charging,” said Burton.
Burton also thinks newer technology could be more dangerous for people.
“They are trying to put too much into a phone, even if the phone cannot sustain,” said Burton.
The Samsung phone catching on fire is the consequence of modern life.
“We use so much more energy this year than we used 10 years ago and it just keeps going up and up.
And as you use more energy, the consequence can become more dangerous,” said Gomez.
But most of the professors think people shouldn’t worry about the safety problems of the new technology, too much.
“I am open-minded and optimistic with new technology.
Technophobia is caused by bad design and poor education; both can be remedied,” said Qiao.
Today, our smartphones have tremendously more energy than the supercomputer did two decades ago.
“If you have enough energy in your pocket to run your phone for a couple of days, and once you consider your phone has the power of what would have been in the supercomputer 10 or 20 years ago, then you realized there is a lot of energy in there,” said Gomez.
Hou suggests users should follow the product instructions to avoid similar accidents from happening again.
“There is really nothing for us to worry about. The user should also follow the instructions, when approaching or using the new technology,” said Hou.
The most important point students have stressed is the balance between the newer technology and safety.
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