ElectronicsFact 5 of 8
The National Security Agency buildings at Ft. Meade, Maryland, are sheathed with copper to prevent unauthorized snooping. Even the windows are fitted with copper screens. The copper blocks radio waves from penetrating into or escaping from the spy operation. Copper sheathing is also used in hospitals to enclose rooms containing sensitive equipment like CAT scan, MRI and X-ray units to prevent problems related to the entrance or emission of errant electromagnetic radiation.
On a smaller scale, copper strip is used to shroud electron tubes, transistors, integrated circuits and even complete electronic chasses to prevent radio frequency (RF) interference.
