Tim May <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >On Tuesday, April 9, 2002, at 10:54 AM, Trei, Peter wrote: >> Putting RF Tags in cash is one of those ideas with Unintended >> Consequences. >> Muggers would love having a way of determining which victims are >> carrying a >> wad, as would many salesmen (and JBTs looking to perform a 'civil >> confiscation' on 'a sum of currency'.) > >Physics-wise, it's a jiveass fantasy. No way are there "micro-strips" >readable from a distance in today's currency, and very likely not in the >next 20 years. (I don't dispute that a careful lab setup could maybe >read a note at a few meters, in a properly-shielded environment, without >any shieding between note and detectors, and with enough time and >tuning. But a wad of bills, folded, stuffed, and with little time to >make the detection...an altogether different kettle of fish.) > >Further, placing the notes in a simple aluminum foil pouch, or a wallet >with equivalent lining, would cut any detectable signals by maybe 30-50 >dB. > Or more.
Not to mention that if you didn't want your money chirping its presence every time a bad actor pinged it you could just disable the transponder in the money : mechanical pressure or repeated bending high voltage high power RF heat For paper money failure rates will probably be high anyway. >--Tim May > I'm guessing that electronic tracking or outright elimination of cash would be coupled with a surge in the use of barter and alternative monies. Mike
