In the centre of the town piazza, this beautifully designed glasshouse sits like an observatory for the hussle and bussle of urban life.

City denizens wishing peace and quiet from their officeplace relax inside the ornate dome are served quietly and efficiently and can watch the world go by - at least until lunchtime is over.

It doesn't matter that every Tom, Dick, and Harriet are connected by phones and WiFi. Noone will be disturbed inside Faraday's Café. The decorative windows are framed in such a fashion that the metal exoskeleton shields them from the electro-prying mobile masts and wifi inaction points.

The glazed wire mesh varies from cut geometric shapes to swirling fractals, all of which cunningly designed in patterns less than 12cm so that 2.4GHz, 1800MHz, and 900MHz RF frequencies become attenuated. Not a single ringtone to be heard - and no fear of you receiving that email from your boss.

The coffee may be slightly pricy (no Maxwell House served here!) and seats may need to be booked in advance, but the atmosphere is free of charge.
-- Jinbish, Jun 20 2008

CMU-200 http://www.livingst...hde-schwarz-cmu200/
OOOh, look at all the pretty toys ... [8th of 7, Jun 20 2008]

All orders come with free jam.
-- 4whom, Jun 20 2008


Excellent.
-- ldischler, Jun 20 2008


It's a great idea (+), I wouldn't go there, but that's me. BTW, there are some clear coatings for windows that will do the same thing.
-- MisterQED, Jun 20 2008


Will the steam from the Espresso machine comply with Boyle's Law ? [+]

Actually, this is a pretty tough thing to achieve. With a transmitter equivalent to a cellphone mast (Actually, an R&S CMU-200 simulator, hooked up to a horn antenna) at a range of 100m, it's still possible to log onto the cell using an unmodified handset even inside an EMC-compliant screened room (All metal floor, walls, ceiling, double doors with RF combs, the whole thing grounded down to earth.
-- 8th of 7, Jun 20 2008


I was at a conference and an R&S salesman was chatting me up to sell me one of those! When he found out I was only a PhD student (at the time), with no buying power, he dropped me like a packet ...

Yeah, the damn EM waves will probably propagate through. Would be interesting to test out though. Perhaps a doubled cage would improve protection (like double glazing!?).
-- Jinbish, Jun 20 2008


//this is a pretty tough thing to achieve//
That's just another way of saying you aren't trying hard enough.
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jun 20 2008


Ok, well in that case, the tablecloths are laced with wire mesh and tin foil. If we can't eliminate the EM field then we sure as hell can give it reflections and plenty of fast fading to deal with.
-- Jinbish, Jun 20 2008


Multiple layers of screening may do the trick, but the best thing would be to bore into a hillside (on a zig-zag track) and build the cafe under a few million tons of rock and earth.

Don't forget a few metal doors along the corridors.

You could be on to a winner, becuse with all that screening, it will be safe to take off your aluminium foil hat; even the CIA brain-ray machine can't penetrate throught a mountain.
-- 8th of 7, Jun 20 2008


How about an aquarium cafe like the one in the first Mission Impossible film? Water's pretty good at stopping this stuff, innit?
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jun 20 2008


You're right. Rather than plain water, how about a saturated solution of Lead Bromide ?
-- 8th of 7, Jun 21 2008


+ You had me from the first paragraph! This is lovely.
-- xandram, Jun 21 2008


You had me from the last clause of the final sentence. Incidentally, couldn't this also be achieved by liberal use of poured and reinforced concrete, which might lend the café that austere Spetsnaz vibe that's (a) in and (b) so compatible with doilies.
-- calum, Jun 21 2008


I wonder if it could be possible to light up the outer skin in accordance with the incident radiation intensity, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the shielding.
-- Ling, Jun 21 2008


Perfect!! Just the place I've been looking for!!! Let me call and make a reservation. Oh. That's right. They don't have a phone. [+}
-- r_kreher, Jun 22 2008


//the damn EM waves /

You'll need a hat rack for all the tinfoil hats.
-- ldischler, Jun 22 2008


Table decorations should be bubble chambers to show that cosmic rays still get through.
-- hippo, Jun 23 2008


Centrepiece and talking point; a huge tank of chlorofluorocarbons, to act as a neutrino detector.
-- 8th of 7, Jun 23 2008


free jam, but no bees?
-- RayfordSteele, Jun 24 2008



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