HP Electronics supposition,

[Spokavriel]

Can this theory work?

Hogwarts is a "Magic" Castle and electronics do not work at Hogwarts. What if the reason electronics do not work there isn't because of the Magic but because of the ghost population? With spirit shards in every painting and full torso apparitions strolling most halls at their whim.

What better than a summoned and bound poltergeist to do things like rearranging stair cases and hidden hallways?

Are we ever given an example of the presence of a magic user messing up electronics? It would almost be easy to stick Jubilation Lee with that if it were the case than almost any Muggle family witch or wizard in Harry Potter.

[Moridin]

its not just Hogwarts that electronics don't work. anyplace with high enough ambient magic levels will mess with electronics, such as the ministry of magic. having soul shards in the paintings would make them act like Horcruxes and there would be loads of voldermort like spirits floating around.

The main fanon theory is that magic acts within the EM spectrum causing circuitry to overload, the main way around that is EMP shielding.

[Spokavriel]

Memory of the spirit. Sorry accidentally used a term that got applied to something else. You can only paint an interactive painting with the blood of the person. And I wouldn't be surprised if the Warding has more to do with the interference than simply the existence of Magic in concentrated amounts.

[Moridin]

course, the paintings seem to have some personality.

as for Wards, by definition they are highly concentrated magic made into either a barrier or a field over an area. more than likely as a barrier that's tied to something, a ward stone for example. The two most common examples for that in fanon is the amount of magic being used everyday by staff and students, some of it is wasted and left in the air. some magic would also be let off by the wards and cause enough concentration of either, or both, to mess with electronics.

from what i understand, a ghost is a roving magical imprint of a person's looks, personality and knowledge at the time of a person's death and contains no soul to speak off, much like a portrait.

[PCHeintz72]

Ehhh... not a fan of HP (in fact, when saw thread was HP electronics, thought Hewlett Packard)... but...

Even if it is true standard electronics will not work in the castle (which I had never heard of before, as I've read HP fanfiction with electronics in the school), I can see that being potentially an issue even in a mudane castle, I can state that with a straight face as getting wireless devices to work outside of a single room in my mothers house was a pain at times due to stuff in the walls of the old build house.

Given that, all that should be needed is heavy sheilded devices, or standard devices with homemade shielding.

If extreme, rooms can be set up with a faraday cage to keep out interference, and heck, depending on theory as to cause, could serve as a mudane ward against magic/ghosts entering... (I wonder if fanfiction ever covered such a combination).

EDIT1: One may never get cell phones to work in such an environment... on the other hand, considering how some fanfiction has Hogwarts situation, there woould be no way to get a signal out conventionally anyway... Considering my general dislike of cell phones and gadget level devices, no great loss in any case.

EDIT2: Some else already thought of this combination, but did not answer it:

HP 'Can Muggle devises work at Hogwarts with the right' by Hapcelion
- [Direct] http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2801729/1 ... -the-right

[Moridin]

The vast majority of HP fic writers have paid enough attention to the books to know that electronics don't work at Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic and other places with lots of magic or high level warding in place. quite a few have come up with the simplest way around it by using EM hardening methods, rooms with a ward that draws the magic out of the air or null-magic rooms.

[Ellen Kuhfeld]

There doesn't seem to be a canonical explanation for this. That means writers can supply any explanation they bloody well want. As usual, some explanations will taste better than others.

If a writer wanted to tamper with the HP universe -- as opposed to the HP characters -- this would be one of the crucial points to define.

[PCHeintz72]

The vast majority of HP fic writers have paid enough attention to the books to know that electronics don't work at Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic and other places with lots of magic or high level warding in place. quite a few have come up with the simplest way around it by using EM hardening methods, rooms with a ward that draws the magic out of the air or null-magic rooms.

That makes absolutely no sense to my way of thinking.

That creates major issues with merely bein able to live in such an environment... Electronics work on principals covering some of what are currently understood to be universal laws... meaning for it to not work, or for interference to be so high they do not work... then the human brain would also be affected, as it works on very similar electrochemical impulses...

Then again, it might explain some the the batty behavior displayed...

The scene to immediately come to mind in fanfiction when I think electronics and Hogwarts is chapter 2 of by 'Hikari no Daija' by Miriani and Andrew Norris

The bulk of the chapter is a group of students setting up a room for internet at Hogwarts...

[Moridin]

There doesn't seem to be a canonical explanation for this. That means writers can supply any explanation they bloody well want. As usual, some explanations will taste better than others.

If a writer wanted to tamper with the HP universe -- as opposed to the HP characters -- this would be one of the crucial points to define.

It's one of quite a few plot holes in HP canon. like how can Harry have a piece of Voldermort's soul inside his scar when Lily's protection stops him from touching Harry. If anything from what I've seen of the films, they're even worse.

PCHeintz72. Magic by it's very definition dose not follow what is currently understood as universal laws. It may explain some of the strange behavior encountered. while I know the effect of EMP on electronic devices, I am not sure about its effect on the bio-electrical impulses that make humans work.

[PCHeintz72]

PCHeintz72. Magic by it's very definition dose not follow what is currently understood as universal laws. It may explain some of the strange behavior encountered. while I know the effect of EMP on electronic devices, I am not sure about its effect on the bio-electrical impulses that make humans work.

Yes... but it should be consistent in explanation when it comes to the human brain and electronics...

Wireless and cell signals not working can be easily explained by the location of Hogwarts itself.

But not the rest...

The human brain can be affected by outside interference... High emps and amps, high voltage wires, unshielded electronics held in close proximity, and fields that alter electrical flow like magnets... All can cause damage to the human body and brain with prolonged exposure, there have been a bunch of different studies on the stuff...

Were we talking a brief pulse, we would in all likely hood be fine even if unshielded electronics would fry... but we are not talking a single pulse, but a constant field.

Heck... I would have expected students to be dying left and right upon moving in each year...

Now... if the bio-electric field surrounding humans can keep out or shield against this effect, allowing us to live there without suffering brain tumors, annyuerisms, or heart failure due to overload or interference of our natural pacemakers... then shielded electronics should also be fine...

You cannot really have it both ways... not and have it believable to me...

I'm actually offended something like that would be present in canon material but no explanation given to how humans can survive it. And it not having been questioned with extreme prejudice over the last 15+ years that Harry Potter has been out.

All this manages to do is give me another reason to be disinclined to read HP related material.

[Moridin]

The Forever Mage and the Lord of Light by Darth Marss on FFnet say that magic is Anaphasic energy/radiation and that Mages have evolved something in their brain that protects them from it's negative effects, but it can be toxic in large amounts to other species.

Given that some Fanon has magical signatures that vary from person to person (might be canon for all I know) their own unique magical signature might protect them from the negative effects. they also could have evolved in such a way that allows them to not be effected by such a thing.

All being said and done, despite being very popular kids books, they have more plot holes than you can shake a stick at. I don't think I've seen or read any other universe where their magic effects electronics.

As it stands I can recall no instance in the books for electronics not working in area's with high magical use. given they are from Harry's point of view, and he did not have electronic stuff. It could be attributed to a lie perpetrated by the Pure-Bloods who hate anything non-magical.

[PCHeintz72]

All being said and done, despite being very popular kids books, they have more plot holes than you can shake a stick at. I don't think I've seen or read any other universe where their magic effects electronics.

El Hazard and Scrapped Princess Come to mind as two that do... Makotos affintiy with Machines is topes in my mind. Though in both those cases, it might be more a matter of a combination of ultra tech and genetic engineering rather than true magic...

I believe the old series called Magic Users Club would be a better example, considering earth bound users of magic destroyed a alien invasion by converting the mothership.

Sailor Moon links Ami's computer and transformation...

Those whome hunt elves has a tank being possessed, but does not really involve electronics

Fate stay night has Shiro fixing a bunch of stuff...

[Moridin]

oops was not that clear, meant series that have magic having a negative or EMP effect on electronics simply by existing. Magic can have any number of active effects on electronics, like changing it into something else so as to not work or to work as an source of power etc.

[PCHeintz72]

oops was not that clear, meant series that have magic having a negative or EMP effect on electronics simply by existing. Magic can have any number of active effects on electronics, like changing it into something else so as to not work or to work as an source of power etc.

Then only one series and scenario potentially comes to mind as close or a runner up... the war between espers and mages in Toaru Kagaku no Index & Railgun...

Majic works fine for mages, and Esper powers work fine for espers... but per canon in that series (and I've argued this point on forums as well as not really workable, but it is canon), a mage or esper *cannot* channel the power of the other, attempting to do so actually causes destructive harm to the human body that is attempting it, they are supposedly not compatible...

It is not any form of EMP field per se, or not that I've ever heard, merely a wrongness... I view it as forcing a AM or FM tuner attempting to recieve the others frequencies, they are not compatible at all.

I call this series a runner up as it has no direct correlation on technology, but more on affects on the human body by its mere presence in the system.

[Moridin]

aye magic should not work like that. well magic from the same source shouldn't work like that. in the Wheel of time books a man on his own cant channel the female side of the power and a woman alone cannot channel the male side. however they can link together with no negative effects.

quite a lot of the time they don't explain why something happens, just that it dose, which is annoying.