19 lines
2.9 KiB
HTML
19 lines
2.9 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="no"?>
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>magic smoke</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="../../jargon.css" type="text/css"/><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.61.0"/><link rel="home" href="../index.html" title="The Jargon File"/><link rel="up" href="../M.html" title="M"/><link rel="previous" href="magic-number.html" title="magic number"/><link rel="next" href="mail-storm.html" title="mail storm"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">magic smoke</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="magic-number.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">M</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="mail-storm.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="magic-smoke"/><dt xmlns="" id="magic-smoke"><b>magic smoke</b>: <span xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" class="grammar">n.</span></dt></dt><dd><p> A substance trapped inside IC packages that enables them to function
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(also called <span class="firstterm">blue smoke</span>; this is
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similar to the archaic <span class="firstterm">phlogiston</span>
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hypothesis about combustion). Its existence is demonstrated by what
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happens when a chip burns up — the magic smoke gets let out, so it
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doesn't work any more. See <a href="../S/smoke-test.html"><i class="glossterm">smoke test</i></a>,
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<a href="../L/let-the-smoke-out.html"><i class="glossterm">let the smoke out</i></a>.</p><p>Usenetter Jay Maynard tells the following story: “<span class="quote">Once, while
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hacking on a dedicated Z80 system, I was testing code by blowing EPROMs and
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plugging them in the system, then seeing what happened. One time, I
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plugged one in backwards. I only discovered that
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<span class="emphasis"><em>after</em></span> I realized that Intel didn't put power-on lights
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under the quartz windows on the tops of their EPROMs — the die was
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glowing white-hot. Amazingly, the EPROM worked fine after I erased it,
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filled it full of zeros, then erased it again. For all I know, it's still
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in service. Of course, this is because the magic smoke didn't get let
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out.</span>” Compare the original phrasing of
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<a href="Murphys-Law.html"><i class="glossterm">Murphy's Law</i></a>.</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="magic-number.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../M.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="mail-storm.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">magic number </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> mail storm</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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