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On Wed, 5 Jan 2005, Elliotte Harold wrote:
>
> In computers, perhaps. But in airplanes, automobiles, lawnmowers, microwave
> ovens, refrigerators, and many other forms of hardware, no. The fact is a
> modern computer doesn't have all that many moving parts, which is what leads
> to parts wearing out. (There's the hard drive, the fan, the CD-tray, maybe a
> button or two, anything else?)
Silicon circuits slowly degrade over time for a variety of reasons ranging
from cosmic rays and general environmental radioactivity to creep, whisker
growth, electrical power instability, contaminants, cracks, thermal
fatigue, thermal and potential driven diffusion, oxidation, moisture
penetration through plastic packaging, and simple mechanical stress
induced by vibration, power cycling and even normal operation cycles.
Just because it doesn't have any 'moving parts' doesn't mean it doesn't
wear out: EVERYTHING wears out sooner or later.
--
Benjamin Franz
"All right, where is the answer? The battle of wits has begun.
It ends when you click and we both serve pages - and find out who is right,
and who is slashdotted." - David Brandt
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