Results: The National Quiet Zone
Published on 08/27/2022
The National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) is a large area of land in the United States designated as a radio quiet zone, in which radio transmissions are heavily restricted by law to facilitate scientific research and the gathering of military intelligence. Roughly half of the zone is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of west-central Virginia while the other half is the Allegheny Mountains of east-central West Virginia; a small part of the zone is in the southernmost tip of the Maryland panhandle. -Wikipedia
QUESTIONS
GO to COMMENTS
Comments
1.
1.
Pocahontas County, W.Va sits within a zone designed to protect a sophisticated radio telescope at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory from interference. The energy of Wi-Fi or cell signals can confuse or interfere with the telescope's readings so they are not allowed in the county. Do you think you could live daily life without the following? (of course people CAN live without these, we just mean would you choose this/would it be easy)
I could live without a cell phone
23%
615 votes
I could live without Wi-Fi
9%
240 votes
I could live without both
25%
669 votes
I could not live without either
44%
1176 votes
2.
2.
A federal quiet zone law and an accompanying state law — the West Virginia Radio Astronomy Zoning Act — combine to keep the area very radio quiet. No interference is allowed. "We still have communications. I mean, it's just ... older. Dial-up telephones. We still have phone booths," says Chuck Niday, an engineer for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and a volunteer at Allegheny Mountain Radio. Do you have a landline telephone in your house? Yes
46%
1241 votes
No
54%
1459 votes
3.
3.
If you had to give up your cell phone, what would be the hardest part? Not being able to contact people
41%
1096 votes
Not being able to Google or look up things I need
16%
434 votes
Not being able to access social media
6%
153 votes
Not being able to access other apps
10%
273 votes
Other (please specify)
4%
101 votes
Not Applicable
24%
643 votes
4.
4.
Some people move to the county due to electrosensitives. Electrosensitivity is an alleged allergy to electromagnetic fields and radiation. Do you know anyone who thinks they have Electrosensitivity? Yes
10%
268 votes
No
90%
2432 votes
COMMENTS