h a l f b a k e r yA riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a rich, flaky crust
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I recently had occasion to separate the wires of a length of lamp
(zip)
cord, then later wished to rejoin the pair. Of course this could be
done
using electrical tape, shrinky tubing, etc. But maybe there's a better
way?
I propose that zip cord, and in fact all forms of multi-wire sheathless
cable be manufactured in a version wherein each conductor would
have insulation extruded with Ziploc-style edges, one each male and
female per conductor.
In this way, multi-wire cables could be non-destructively separated
and recombined as necessary.
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Annotation:
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Well, it would cause a whole host of other problems, but there's certainly the occasion that it would come in handy (+) |
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This, I think, is an excellent idea. [+] |
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[normzone], What sort of problems do you see? |
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Why was I thinking of bungie-jumping cord when I read this title? |
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Somebody would have to redesign and control the specifications for ALL connector interfaces to account for the change in dimension / shape of the insulation. |
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And have you ever attempted to get an uncooperative ziplock to "thread" and begin mating? It's a technology that works great when it's working and is butt-stubborn when it's not perfectly lined up at the start, and becomes increasingly grumpy once it's been mis-threaded. |
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And of course it will voluntarily mate and become one every time you intended it to remain single. |
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The interface zone will collect small particle debris over time, leading to the advertised mate-ability being unreliable when you decide you need it. |
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We're not going to be zipping and unzipping this every
hour. It just has to unzip when necessary; and if the
rezipping is a bit of a fiddle, you can live with it. |
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Can I suggest a compromise? You don't want the cord
to unzip unintentionally. So, have the two zipped
strands held together with a thin web of material
(just like a regular cord). On the rare occasion that
you want to unzip part of the cord, the webs tear
(again, as with a regular cord) and the zip unzips.
The unzipped cord can then be rezipped - it won't be
as strong against unzipping as before, but it'll be OK. |
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I am usually open to compromise, but in this case, will stick to my ...
insulation. How about hexagonal cross-sections, with alternating
bumps and fissures, so that either flat or circular geometries can be
made? |
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Could also be formed in spiral patterns (like licorice sticks) to
minimise dust collection. This might spin off a related idea: licorice
construction kits ? But maybe this would be too sticky. |
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A simpler alternative would be to just make sure that
a really, really high current is passing through the
conductors at all times. In which case, they will stick
together magnetically. |
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