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Bug Technology

The Tin-Whisker Menace 261

Posted by timothy from the crisis-of-the-moment dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Fortune has an article about how the recent environmental push to completely eliminate lead from electronic components and wiring may eventually lead to the next Y2K problem of slowly-growing tin whiskers short-circuiting equipment.""
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The Tin-Whisker Menace More

The Tin-Whisker Menace

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  • What does lack of using lead have to do with the tin whiskers problem?
    • Then read the article!

    • Re:I don't get the connection (Score:5, Informative)

      by InternationalCow ( 681980 ) <mauricevansteensel.mac@com> on Sunday January 09, 2005 @09:13AM (#11303461) Journal
      I quote from a most informative pdf (get it here [umd.edu]):
      "A tin whisker is a single crystal of tin that grows spontaneously from a surface a pure tin. They are typically only a few microns (?m) in diameter but can grow to lengths of more than 10 mm (though lengths on the order of 1 mm are far more common) [NIST Website, 2002]. Tin whisker growth is spontaneous, not relying on external influences of current or electrolytic action, more commonly associated with mechanisms like "dendritic" growth, conductive filament formation and electromigration. While early studies believed that tin recrystallization (which occurs at 50 deg C) played some role in whisker formation, recent studies have reported as much, if not greater, propensity for whisker formation at temperatures as low as room temperature [NASA Web Site, 2002].(....)Conventional wisdom attributes tin whiskering to internal stresses in the pure tin layer, with a primary source being the compressive stresses caused by electroplating. However, tin whiskers have also been reported from surfaces where tin has been applied by methods other than electroplating. In the presence of compressive stress, whiskers are extruded over time, as a stress release mechanism. Many factors may contribute to the stress in the plating, including intermetallic formation, thermal expansion mismatches, corrosion of the substrate, and externally applied forces such as bending, lead forming and application of pressure. Defects such as scratches and nicks have been reported to magnify the effects by causing local stress concentrations and possibly providing openings in any protective surface oxide layers. In fact, these external factors may cause whiskering in samples that may otherwise be resistant to the phenomenon. For example, tin whiskers have been observed to form on tin finished surfaces that had been exposed to hot oil dip to fuse the tin (a known mitigating process) [Cunningham and Donahue, 1990]. Adding a trace amount of another element (i.e. Pb or Bi) has been shown to reduce the tendency of plating to grow whiskers."

  • It's those idiot greens again (Score:4, Funny)

    by PedanticSpellingTrol ( 746300 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @08:56AM (#11303387)
    This probem is one of the reasons we use lead in solder, it's only reappearing now that the EU is pushing for all new electronics sold to be lead-free. Frankly, I'd like to see everyone keep using lead and just stop selling to europe. That'll teach 'em.
    • How about just teaching kids to avoid licking circuit boards?

    • Re:It's those idiot greens again (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Space Coyote ( 413320 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @09:01AM (#11303413) Homepage
      Yeah, they'll have to replace some electronic equipment now and then, perhaps. And all because they don't want to poison themselves with lead. Silly Europeans.

      But you go, USA, put lead back in everything, just to be the rugged individualists you are and show the rest of the world.

      Hell, do you think Ancient Rome would have taken any crap from anyone else criticizing them for their lead pots? Exactly. USA! USA!

      • Yeah, but, now, there's a hell of a lot of other stuff in the landfills.

        Not to mention that you don't want this to be happening on your mission-critical server.

      • Re:It's those idiot greens again (Score:5, Funny)

        by jmichaelg ( 148257 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @09:37AM (#11303540) Journal
        I hired a contractor to remodel my kitchen a few years back. I did some of the easier jobs such as wire the switches and plumb the sink drains. I was putting together a list of parts I'd need for the sink when the contractor told me the following story about a new development on the north side of town.
        The plumbing inspection happens before the sheetrock goes up so any plumbing errors are easy to spot and repair. The permit inspector was on the last house where the plumbers were just cleaning up. The inspector spotted a discarded solder can and picked it up. As he handed over the empty to one of the plumbers, the inspector said,

        "Boy that solder is really good stuff!"
        To which the plumber said, "Yeah, it's a little more expensive but it flows really smoothly."
        The inspector replied, "It must be the lead that makes it flow so smoothly. But you know, it's too bad that you're not allowed to use lead solder any more. You're going to have to start over." And with that, the inspector ticketed every house in the subdivision.
        I ended up using plastic plumbing.
        • A new development where they aren't using plastic tubing? I find that suspicious.
          • Your suspicion is understandable but the development went up years ago back when plastic plumbing was just taking off.

            My best friend owns one of the top plumbing outfits around here. He routinely does the more difficult jobs in Pebble Beach and Big Sur. He also does the bread and butter work in the less expensive areas where cost is the paramount consideration. Years ago, he won a bid on an apartment complex in Marina, a town next to the old Fort Ord land.

            To save costs he picked up some plastic pipe from a

        • Yeah, those crazy greens won't let them use lead in our pipes anymore. The inspector was right to ticket them, the idiots.

          • Yes, it is. (Score:3, Insightful)

            by MarcQuadra ( 129430 ) *
            Hey there, there's a HUGE difference between pipes made out of lead and a bit of solder with lead in it.

            Lead isn't a death-sentence, it can be safely used. I've been drinking from lead pipes and living in lead-painted walls my whole life and never shown elevated levels. My dad is a lead inspector and he says that virtually all the lead poisoning cases are caused by lead paint dust and chips, kids get the dust on their hands and toys and it ends up in their blood.

            This sort of demonizing really pisses me of
        • Well, geezuz, plumbers must use silver solder. 'Silver is a little more expensive, but it flows really well...'

      • Let's talk reality here (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Sycraft-fu ( 314770 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @10:00AM (#11303601)
        The lead in solder accounts for a very, VERY tiny percentage of the lead we use and dispose of. It's a really stupid thing to be targeting since there are much bigger problems. It's like worrying about a basket of dirty laundry when your entire floor is covered in garbage. You aren't fixing a problem worth solving.

        Now these tin whiskers aside, this sucks for people who like ot do electronics work at home. The only solder blends that are easy to work with contain lead. A 63/37 Sn/Pb or 62/36/2 Sn/Pb/Ag blend is what you need for a low melting point and nice, clean, easy application. The non-lead solders are much harder to work with since they need much higher temperatures. Easy to burn out a component if you aren't careful.

        Now compare the amount of lead I use to make an electronic device (like 25-30% of a tube the size of my pinky, that's less than 40% lead and wound such as to use less than 30% of the space in the tube) to a lead-acid car battery, which all cars have and are replaced about once every 5 years.

        The no lead in circuts is a wonderful example of environmentalists going after a non issue and fucking things up for people. Yes, lead is a problem, it can contaminate water tables and lead poisoning is NASTY. However the small amount of lead used on PCBs is NOT the problem, and getting rid of it just creats MORE waste by creating electronics that die faster.
        • The lead in solder accounts for a very, VERY tiny percentage of the lead we use and dispose of.

          It seems to me that the whole lead issue is addressed very erratically. The solder in a circuit board is a huge problem, but anybody can go down to Wal-Mart and buy a tin of airgun pellets containing about a 1/4 pound of pure lead and spray it all over their back yard. Lead encased in computer monitor glass is a huge crisis, but nobody talks much about 36-inch TV tubes, and if you shop for wine glasses some of t

          • anybody can go down to Wal-Mart and buy a tin of airgun pellets containing about a 1/4 pound of pure lead and spray it all over their back yard.

            Not around here. Lead is not allowed in projectiles.

            Lead encased in computer monitor glass is a huge crisis

            I have not heard anything about that. As far as I know putting lead into glass is a pretty good way of disposing of it.

          • Not ignored, but not focused on. Just look at RCRA and stuff...

            There's only 12 states right now that even have legislation in the works to mitigate the disposal of computer products. The EPA has to suggest a problem and then states have to decide upon a solution that works for them.

            It's a process that's slow, but has been doing a heck of a lot since 1976.

            And it is a LOT eaisier to regulate the use in newer products than older ones. Keep in mind, there's very few houses that have wine glasses, and a heck
          • The lead in monitor glass is an oxide, poorly soluble and not a threat in modern landfills.
          • TVs don't have the same optical requirements as monitors. That 36" legacy TV is still limited to 525 scan lines, a 19" monitor may be driven to 1500-2000 scan lines. Even with HDTV you're looking at significantly lower resolutions than a monitor.

            On top of that a bit of "smearing" is actually desirable on TVs since it helps to mask artifacts. In contrast monitors must be crisp because they're usually used for relatively small print. Imagine using a monitor with only 6 lines of text.
        • However the small amount of lead used on PCBs is NOT the problem, and getting rid of it just creats MORE waste by creating electronics that die faster.

          This is the likely reason why the manufactures aren't loudly protesting the lead-free future. If a device dies, it enforces an upgrade much better than mere moral obsolescence, which promises some future profit.

        • Now these tin whiskers aside, this sucks for people who like ot do electronics work at home. The only solder blends that are easy to work with contain lead.

          My suggestion is to stockpile the lead-based solder. It's a temporary solution, but will buy some time. (Making your own SnPb alloy and turning it into flux-filled wires is a bit too difficult to propose as a solution, though in the future it will probably be the only way.)

          Also, it's necessary to be aware about various gotchas. Some parts are plated w

        • I think you're missing the point when it comes to the lead issue. I'm sure plenty of greens are trying to get lead batteries banned or replaced, it just hasn't happened yet. Maybe electronics companies need better lobbiests. Either way, while I understand your frustration, your post does give a good example of something just as aggrivating to the greens: the idea that it is pointless to protect ourselves from small things when there are big, more dangerous things. The small things are still bad! And do

    • Re:It's those idiot greens again (Score:4, Informative)

      by trburkholder ( 307597 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @10:28AM (#11303691) Homepage
      OK, I'll feed the troll.

      Lead is a neurotoxin; children exposed to lead are at risk of developmental delays, reduced IQ, learning disabilities, hearing loss, reduced height and hyperactivity. Levels above 10 mcg/dL (about 100 ppb) are considered to be a health risk to children. Adults are at risk of anemia, nervous system dysfunction, kidney problems, hypertension, decreased fertility, and increased level of miscarriages.

      It used to be that the biggest source of environmental lead was automobile exhaust, followed by lead paint. In the late 1970's 14.9 million children in the US had elevated blood lead levels. This figure declined to about 300,000 in the US CDC's 99-00 survey. Banning lead paint in 1978 and leaded gasoline's phase out starting in 1975 removed the sources of exposure.

      In adults, levels above 24 mcg/dL are considered elevated and mostly come from workplace exposures, such as demolition, recycling and manufacturing. The number of adults with elevated blood lead levels has also been declining.

      The problem with adult exposure is that without proper industrial hygiene, the lead comes home with them, providing a route of exposure to their children. 2-3% of children with elevated blood lead levels are exposed in this way.

      Lead in manufacturing is an expense since exposure has to be managed. But, if you don't control it at the source, then you have to try and manage it in the waste stream which is much more expensive and difficult. Given the population density and the emphasis on recycling in the EU, lead exposure through this route is a decreasingly acceptable risk to the population.

      P.S. The EU is the largest economy in the world so you tell your directors that you don't need that market anymore!
    • A better solution might be to look for a different less toxic alloying metal than pb. A small amount a Ag maybe a good solution.
      • Well, yes, that's obvious isn't it? Billions of dollars in research, and no one thought of that?

        The problem is: no one understands quite why lead prevents tin whisker formation, so it's hard to find a replacement that you *know* works. Texas Insrtuments has ten years of development on this, and has a solution that "looks good"; evryone else is behind that. Lead alloys have a 50 year track record, however, and the new apporaches just don't have the field data yet.

        In order to fix a very small part of the
        • Trust me I tend to agree with you. On of the problems with the world is to many people in power are or where lawyers. They tend to think pass a law and solve a problem. This is a prime example. However just ignoreing lead is also not a solution.

  • I wonder... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by SharpFang ( 651121 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @08:58AM (#11303393) Homepage Journal
    how hard would it be to put -everything- on chip?
    I mean, yeah, stuff remains modular. One module, one chip. A motherboard consisting of a central "motherboard chip" (containing both bridges, IDE circuitry, bus drivers, all the "integrated hardware" etc), plus slots for all the rest of the hardware, single-chip graphics card, single-chip RAM dice, etc. Just reduce the role of PCB to a board where slots are being located and connected to the central chip, no more batteries of capacitors, network of resistors, hundreds of small chips... Just load everything into one (even big) IC, add some radiator/cooler, and get rid of space and soldering problems.

    • Re:I wonder... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by notany ( 528696 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @09:25AM (#11303493) Journal
      This is whre progress is going. For example Prof. David Patterson (inventor of RAID and first MISC instruction set computers) has been trying to do this many years. See IRAM [berkeley.edu]

      There is some practical problems.

      1. Low yield. Failure rate grows with bigger chips. Makes them more expensive.
      2. Harder to make. Different prosesses for making memory and logic (this has been done already of course).
      3. Heat problem. It's easier to cool separaate chunks of prosessor, graphics processor and memory.
      4. Upgrading. New usb spec, make new mask. Upgrade graphics prosessor, make new mask. New mask for every memory configuration. Uh.

      We may get close eventually. Practicality may dictate that we end up with 1-3 chips per home PC. Maybe optical connections between.

      My time estimate for this to happen is 10-30 years from now.

      • Ball Semiconductor [ballsemi.com] has an interesting take on creating integrated circuits: Put them on little spheres of silicon [ballsemi.com]!

        The beauty of this approach is that you can create different balls with different functionality and then cluster them in 3D shapes. You also can cool by using fluid or air-flow through the spaces between the balls. Of course you have to use something to create the connections between the balls, but it requires so little material that you can go back to using a pinch of lead in the mix.

        Result?

      • Re:I wonder... (Score:2, Informative)

        by bbrack ( 842686 )
        SOC work has already reached this point for many electronics devices - cell phones are about the highest level things that I can think of that can currently be built from a single IC This is also being seen in the processor market, especially on the server side, where chips can be significantly more expensive, with things like memory controllers, network controllers, etc being put on-die on a lot of next generation processors The main problem is that combining all these parts into a single chip raises the
    • PCI express brings the promise of more modularization with, hopefully, optical interconnects.

      Parallel busses mean lots of wires all the same length to negate timing differences, a serial bus will eliminate this. No doubt it will introduce other engineering constraints. Environmentally hazardous printed circuit board manufacturing for PC production could well be significantly reduced.

      All being well it will become the grand unified bus !

    • PDA (Score:2)

      by nurb432 ( 527695 )
      You are effectively describing a PDA with slots..

      So yes, they can do it. But apparently there isn't a big enough market for it.

      Embedded systems development can do this now.. SoC is the acronym to google for.
    • You are going to have a hard time squeezing things like transformers, induction coils, and power supply capacitors onto a chip.

    • Re: I wonder (Score:4, Funny)

      by EvilMidnightBomber ( 778018 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @03:27PM (#11305065) Homepage
      Top ten list of critique openers most likely to get you prematurely killed by an engineer

      10. I wonder...
      9. I was just thinking...
      8. That's great, but what I was really looking for was...
      7. You know what would be really cool...
      6. Was it supposed to do that?...
      5. I'm sure it'll look better by the time you've finished...
      4. Would it be possible to...
      3. To: Engineering From: Marketing Priority: Urgent
      2. Did someone tell you to do it this way?...
      1. How hard would it be to...

  • No (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Sycraft-fu ( 314770 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @08:59AM (#11303402)
    All other factors aside, the reason that Y2K would have been the problem that some alleged is that all the failures would happen at the same time. If something fails, even something major like a powerplant, it's a problem not a catastrophe. It would only be a catastrophe if lots of tem, or worse yet all of them, failed at the same time.

    So supposing this problem is as stated, it'll just lead to higher failure rates of electronics. That's not a catastrophe, just something we'll have to deal with, either by changing the methods used or simply by increasing the rate at which we replace devices.
    • All other factors aside, the reason that Y2K would have been the problem that some alleged is that all the failures would happen at the same time. If something fails, even something major like a powerplant, it's a problem not a catastrophe. It would only be a catastrophe if lots of tem, or worse yet all of them, failed at the same time.

      Tin Whiskers are less like Y2K, more like Mad Cow [google.com] -- an insidious, slow-growing disease that consumes our neural infrastructure.

      -kgj

  • paint finish? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by silence535 ( 101360 )
    Where is the problem in making a final layer of paint finish on the tin circuitry?

    Lead on the cirquit boards is a huge sleeping environmental problem and those who are tempted to shout 'tree higger' now might want to inform themselves on the potential lead hazards first.

    -silence
    • those who are tempted to shout 'tree higger'

      Looks like you combined to very commonly used words by bigots.
    • Tree Higger!!!

      What the hell is a tree higger? Some sort of insect?

      People need to get some fucking perspective. Lead solder on printed circuit boards is not a "huge sleeping environmental problem". The coal burning power plant that is supplying your electricity is a major problem. The 5-ton Canyonero SUV that your 110 lb wife uses to commute to work is a major problem. A gazillion tons of nitrates washing into the watershed is a major problem.

    • The solution is: conformal coating.

      Conformal coating is used in MIL spec circuit
      boards as an environmental barrier, but might
      also be useful to suppress the "tin whiskers"
      problem. It does introduce problems with
      heat dissipation, however, which could cause
      even earlier system failure. The only computer
      users who wouldn't/couldn't use conformal coating
      are OCes (OverClockers), but they routinely
      trade up their computers long before any "tin
      whiskers" might cause problems anyway.
    • Paint reduces the issue of whiskers, but it does not eliminate the problem completely.

      Also lead is used because it is suitable for keeping the melting point low for electronics soldering, but other metals also inhibit the formation of whiskers. This leads to a number of interesting questions:

      1) How much lead is required to inhibit whisker formation? Is it possible to use a "very low lead content" solder instead of a "lead free" solder and avoid both problems?

      2) What is the environmental cost of havin

  • Tin whiskers eh? (Score:3, Funny)

    by bildungsroman_yorick ( 825714 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @09:04AM (#11303429)
    Obviously to fix the problem we need some amalgamation of courage and heart in electronic form pronto. Is there any engineers here whose work includes hiding behind curtains and appearing to his co-workers in giant green mask form?

  • Good job... (Score:3, Funny)

    by JaredOfEuropa ( 526365 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @09:10AM (#11303444) Journal
    ... you lot just slashdotted NASA.

    "The page cannot be displayed. There are too many people accessing the Web site at this time."

  • Duplicate story (Score:3, Informative)

    by emj ( 15659 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @09:10AM (#11303446) Journal
    Same story as 6 month ago Zinc Whiskers Cripple Colorado's Computers [slashdot.org]. There's a PDF there that explains it all as well. They are pretty little whiskers, that can only be observed if examined very closely in the right environment.
    • Yup, Zinc whiskers [upsite.com] are a big problem as well. I worked in a company that had this problem, we had like 20 power supplies fail before IBM's forensics team could diagnose the problem.

      Every time someone moved a floor tile, the whiskers would get broken off and thrown into the air (yeah, I was breathing this stuff) and some would go into the power supplies shorting everything out.

      We didn't really notice until it was decided we neeted to run another loop of power and ALL the tiles were lifted along one row of
    • Same story as 6 month ago Zinc Whiskers Cripple Colorado's Computers.

      Not really a dupe. More like another story about the same thing.

      Anyway, I recall that there isn't a consensus on whether zinc whiskers exist. Some folks say it's a huge problem, others haven't seen them at all.

      Cat whiskers, however, do exist. And they are a MENACE.

  • sealant (Score:3, Insightful)

    by confusion ( 14388 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @09:12AM (#11303454) Homepage
    Surely a bath in some sort of sealant post production would eliminate this problem? Finding a way not to seal up the connection points would be a challenge, though.

    Then again, this problem doesn't work out so bad for the hardware manufacturers, now does it?

    Jerry
    http://www.syslog.org/ [syslog.org]

    • Re:sealant (Score:3, Insightful)

      by PornMaster ( 749461 )
      I think you'd also have to consider things like the heat-insulating properties of the sealants. That whole law-of-unintended-consequences thing. Would suck to solve the tin whiskers problem, but have your CPU fail because of overheating.
    • Surely a bath in some sort of sealant post production would eliminate this problem? Finding a way not to seal up the connection points would be a challenge, though.

      It's called "conformal coating", and many PCBs already have it.

      Masking isn't even remotely a challenge- it's used extensively. Many PCBs are 'wave' soldered, which means a wave is set up in a solder tank, and the peak of the wave barely makes contact with the board from side to side.

    • Re:sealant (Score:2, Informative)

      by twrake ( 168507 )
      From the following artical Sealant may be a solution.

      http://physics.about.com/od/condensedmatter/a/soft metalwisker.htm [about.com]

      Soft Metal Wiskers

      from AIP Physics News
      AIP Physics News Update #711
      Soft-metal whiskers, tiny metallic protrusions that grow like hair from soft metals, are a problem that can cause electronic short circuits leading, in some cases, to the failure of heart pacemakers, avionic relays, and satellites. What to do with the unwanted whiskers---and, in the first place, understanding how they
    • If the whiskers are, as some theories suggest, product of surface tensions, then they may be able to punch through even tough coatings (because they are so small == very sharp). If the process has something to do with oxygen as another reply to your post suggested, then coatings would work (though I doubt indefinitely, as very few polymers are completely gas impermeable).
      • What about using an amorphous form of tin rather than crystaline? I.e., quench the solder very quickly to room temperature rather than letting it cool slowly. If its due to either compressive stresses or oxygen, the problem is that when it expands, it expands preferentially along certain directions and at certain sites. If its amorphous, it shouldn't have any preferred directions, so instead of forming a whisker it just grows or shrinks a bit all over.

        I imagine thats the sort of thing that adding a few imp

    • Re:sealant (Score:3, Informative)

      by GoRK ( 10018 )
      It's not really a bath, but you can use conformal coatings [techspray.com] to protect PCB's against this and other maladies such as high humidity, salt water spray, etc. I tend to spray down most PCB's I produce myself as they have no solder mask to protect the bare traces otherwise.

  • Mah cat has tin whiskers (Score:5, Funny)

    by BadDoggie ( 145310 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @09:20AM (#11303480) Homepage Journal
    Oh wait, mah mistake. He has twailve.
    </drawl>

    woof.

  • The page cannot be displayed
    There are too many people accessing the Web site at this time.

    Please try the following:

    * Click the Refresh button, or try again later.
    * Open the nepp.nasa.gov home page, and then look for links to the information you want.

    HTTP 403.9 - Access Forbidden: Too many users are connected
    Internet Information Services

    Technical Information (for support personnel)

    * Background:
    This error can occur if the Web server is busy and cannot process your request due to hea
    • "Oh god, where will this end? Where will they put that burned down server?"

      Knowing NASA, after just one server crashes and burns, the rest will be grounded for years and years and the USA will have to rely on Russian servers...

  • wither the tin-foil hat? (Score:4, Funny)

    by close_wait ( 697035 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @09:23AM (#11303488)
    This is just a government conspiracy to bypass tin-foil hats! Everyone knows that it's the 2% lead content which actually blocks the mind-control rays....

  • Heavy Metal! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Nikkodemus ( 763778 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @09:30AM (#11303509)
    Oh man, this song could be sooo big!

    Tin Whiiiiiiiiiskers
    They cancelled IT Class
    Tin Whiiiiiiiiiskers
    They come from Satan's ass..

    Hairs of the Devil, items of no good repute
    If the grow to a certain lenght, the PC's can't compute!

    Tin Whiiiiiiiiiskers

    (guitar solo)

    (reprise)

  • Forget tin Whiskers, Nanotechnology will kill. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by d3nali ( 310312 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @09:42AM (#11303557)
    The issue with tin whiskers is that they are so small and invasive. Next to this problem however nanotechnology will make it look trivial.

    The small particles being produced with nanotechnology concepts will enable it to invade and affect the body in ways that connot possibly be handeled by todays technology or our immune systems.

    I'm all for technology but we need some protections before a company starts spewing these waste/production nanoparticles off into the enviroment in order to save in producing costs for that lastest flat screen tv using carbon nanotubes.
    • Can you give an example of the sorts of small particles you're talking about? As far as I'm aware, the best nanotechnology is still on a molecular level, and we come in contact with some damn small molecules every single day. Breathable oxygen molecules are only two medium-sized atoms large. As far as I'm aware, nanotech isn't even being considered on that small a scale.

  • Temperature cycling (Score:4, Interesting)

    by NoseBag ( 243097 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @09:45AM (#11303563)
    When I worked in the E-Warfare division of (deleted) we ran into this issue whenever we used brass prototype packages to house circuits. The cause of the whisker growth (in brass) was the repeated temperature cycling (TC) of the package. Apparently in the presence of the TC, the tin in the brass preferentially crystalized out of the brass in whisker form and pushed out of the sides. Kinda neat, actually, except for the occasional power supply short. We found that a solid nickel-plate or copper-plate fixed the problem nicely.
  • Perhaps this explains why my Sony Minidisc started playing up
    ($WARRANTY_PERIOD + 1)
    .

    Gadget makers rejoice, you've got a new excuse to keep refresh cycles short...

  • Other Brands? (Score:3, Funny)

    by polyp2000 ( 444682 ) on Sunday January 09, 2005 @10:04AM (#11303615) Homepage Journal
    I've always bought tins of whiskers for tiddles, should I switch to another brand - He's never been too keen on kit-e-cat. How will this affect my cat ?

    Nick ...
  • They are slowly morphing into a Forbes/Economist pseudo-fascist neocon wannabe rag with the perceived "rightward drift" of the public and the frothiness of the market.
  • won't this avert the problem?
  • There are many metallurgical issues in electronics: Tin whiskers and Copper Black Death are two of the most prominent, though they can be prevented with a proper coating. Anyhoo, who cares if a cell phone stops working after 3 years due to tin whisker growth? By that time the battery is dead and the technology obsolete...
  • Instructions: Before and after each use shake your computer vigorously for 45 seconds.

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