If he wants to contact the outside world and receive radio or shortwave signals, Chen Xin must set up the prepared antenna outside to establish communication with the external environment.
To achieve this, he must at least wait until the wildfires outside are completely extinguished, the temperature has lowered, and only then can Chen Xin open the shelter door and go outside.
However, according to Chen Xin's estimate, waiting for the external temperature to drop and the wildfires to extinguish might take at least a month.
But if it's just waiting for the effects caused by the EMP shockwave to dissipate, a few more days should suffice.
The so-called EMP stands for electromagnetic pulse, a sudden, broadband electromagnetic radiation burst. An electromagnetic pulse usually lasts no more than a second.
Electromagnetic pulses are typically triggered by events like nuclear explosions, lightning, solar flares, conduit effects, or electrical sparks. The reason old televisions used to get damaged during thunderstorms was that the lightning-induced EMP burned out the internal components of the TV.
While the duration and impact of an EMP are typically short, this time the EMP was caused by the ionosphere being disturbed by a meteorite, making its duration obviously longer than those caused by nuclear explosions or lightning.
The reason Chen Xin has waited so many days is mainly because, besides the main large meteor, there are also many small meteor fragments and materials ejected into space by the meteor impact.
These meteorite debris and the ejected materials will continuously fall over several days to weeks after the meteor impact, causing ongoing ionosphere disturbances and generating EMPs.
So, to avoid damage to electronic devices, waiting a few more days is a safer approach.
Of course, this waiting cannot go on indefinitely, because even in the next hundred years, the materials ejected into space and the meteor shards created by the impact may not be completely settled. The disturbance they cause to the ionosphere will continue, but the scale of the disturbance caused by these fragments and dust will not be significant.
The large chunks of meteor debris and ejected materials will fall first, causing disturbances in the ionosphere that will have a global impact. Once these larger pieces have fallen, the remaining smaller pieces will take a much longer time to settle, and their EMP effects will be much smaller, basically negligible.
According to Chen Xin's estimate, the falling of these large pieces will last about a week, so if he wants to unseal his electronic devices, waiting about a week should be sufficient.
Since the large materials have already fallen, even if the smaller materials can cause an EMP shockwave, the hundred-meter-thick soil above would prevent any impact on the electronic devices inside the shelter.
From the beginning, when the lightbulbs would flicker continuously throughout the day and even burn out, to now, when they only flicker every few hours, it's clear to see.
However, even though it's only a few more days before he can take out and use his phone and computer, Chen Xin still feels very bored now.
This is an underground shelter. Although Chen Xin didn't dig very deep, the hundred-meter-thick soil above not only protects his shelter from various disasters but also isolates almost all external sound.
In fact, if it weren't for Chen Xin's profession, which required him to be alone for long periods and accustomed to solitary environments, he might end up like those soldiers in solitary confinement, if he had to spend a week in such an extremely quiet environment alone.
It's extraordinarily quiet here, and the lighting only relies on lamps. After turning off the lights, Chen Xin cannot even distinguish whether it's day or night.
If it weren't for a mechanical pocket watch and the daily system settlement as time references, Chen Xin might truly blur the concept of time after a few days, completely unaware of how long he has been here or whether it is day or night outside.
Although due to the meteor impact, the outside sky should have been obscured by dust for over a hundred years, rendering the concept of day and night moot.
Chen Xin tapped his forehead, suddenly thinking that he should have bought an intelligent window, not a window that automatically adjusts light and UV rays, but one that can change scenery.
A display panel can show different scenery at different times, which would undoubtedly be essential for someone like Chen Xin, isolated underground.
And with the advent of long nights and cold winters, after the devastation from the global fires, the once-beautiful scenery with birds and flowers has obviously become a thing of the past; leaving a window for reminiscing about past beauty is undoubtedly a form of commemoration.
It's just that Chen Xin obviously hadn't considered this at the time, resulting in him now staring blankly at the cold ceiling.
Otherwise, even staring blankly at grass and woods would be more pleasing than the ceiling in front of him.
Of course, since there's no intelligent window, Chen Xin can't create one out of thin air. Perhaps in the future, when upgrading the room, he can include such equipment through a comprehensive room upgrade, but now Chen Xin thinks he might at least upgrade the lighting system first.
Add intelligent functions to the lighting system, adjusting light intensity and color tone according to the time, allowing oneself in the underground shelter to feel the passage of time, which is undoubtedly better than the current rigid fluorescent tubes.
Moreover, with the changes in time, he can better plan his schedule, avoiding a blurry and aimless daily life.
With this in mind, Chen Xin opened his notebook and wrote "lighting" on the page that listed food and medical items.
But would upgrading the lighting increase power usage?
After writing "lighting," Chen Xin paused briefly, thought for a moment, and inserted "power supply" before lighting.
Although the shelter's current power usage isn't high, and the generator doesn't run at full capacity all day, with most generated electricity stored in batteries, considering the increased power consumption from upgrading various equipment, upgrading the generator is also something to be included in future plans.
However, upgrading the generator also means increased fuel consumption. How long can the three tons of gasoline he stored last?
Chen Xin pondered this seriously, but solving this problem won't be too challenging. Whether it's waiting for the external environment to stabilize and then exchanging fresh vegetables for supplies as originally planned, or upgrading the power system through the system to transform the fuel generator into more advanced or even groundbreaking power generation equipment, both are viable solutions.