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Why do passengers on an aircraft have to turn off their electronic devices during takeoff and landing? CHRISTINE Canossa College Electronic devices such as mobile phones, computers and personal stereos give out electronic signals which could interfere with the aircraft's navigation equipment.

Aircraft depend on information transmitted from the airport control tower to their computers to ensure safe takeoff or landing. If passengers switched on their electronic devices during these crucial times, the signals received by the aircraft could be disrupted or altered, endangering the flight.

Some airlines ban the use of mobile phones at all times, not just during landing and takeoff.

Since aircraft increasingly rely on computerised steering and navigation, it is important to ensure no electronic equipment interferes with the plane's computers.

As a sign of how seriously the danger from mobile phones is taken, in July a British judge sentenced an oil worker to one year in jail for endangering a flight by refusing to switch off his mobile phone.

What causes colour blindness? Eight per cent of men and 0.4 per cent of women are colour blind.

People can suffer from three types of colour blindness. Monochromats are people who are unable to distinguish between colours. Dichromats are those who can match all colours with a mixture of red and blue primary colours. Anomalous trichromats are those who require abnormal proportions of the three primary colours to match different colours.

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