Self-destruct

A self-destruct is a mechanism which causes a device to destroy itself under a predefined set of circumstances. Self-destruct mechanisms are sometimes found in high-security data storage devices, where it is important for the data to be destroyed to prevent compromise.

Self-destruct mechanisms are also found on devices and systems where malfunction could endanger large numbers of people. The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster rockets, for example, are equipped with explosive charges so that the boosters can be destroyed in the event that they go out of control on launch and endanger a populated area. This feature can be seen in videos of the Challenger disaster. After the initial disintegration of the shuttle, the two solid rocket boosters continued firing until they explode simultaneously 37 seconds later. This occurred when the Range Safety Officer decided that the separated boosters had the potential to endanger those on the ground and activated the self-destruct system.

The naval procedure of scuttling is used to destroy a ship or ships to prevent them from being seized and/or reverse-engineered.

Use in fiction

Self-destruct mechanisms are a common plot device in science fiction stories. The frequency of occurrence has caused it to become a cliché, or a plot device. Commonly, self-destructs in fiction are seen on military installations, spaceships or the theme of an artificial intelligence destroying itself due to cognitive dissonance.

A few examples:

• Alien : Lieutenant Ripley activates a self-destruct mechanism on Commercial Towing Vessel Nostromo in order to destroy a monster that wiped out her entire crew. This system functions by disabling the nuclear reactor cooling system, resulting in a time delayed nuclear meltdown.
• The Andromeda Strain: The laboratory where the story takes place is equipped with a nuclear device capable of destroying the facility, this device activates automatically and can only be disarmed by the team member specified according to the Odd-Man Hypothesis.
• Mission: Impossible films and TV-series: The message to the operatives are later in the canon always delivered on something that self-destructs a few seconds after the message has been played.

In lighter or humorous fiction (such as cartoons and superhero films), the self destruct button is a ubiquitous component in any self-respecting mad scientist's machines. Rather than requiring authorization or procedure, it simply is a button that, when pushed, will cause the machine to self-destruct, frequently destroying the entire structure or complex it is housed in. The often complete uselessness (and danger) of such a device (except to a good guy) is possibly one of the many reasons a mad scientist is known as 'mad'.

See also

• Autothysis
• Apoptosis