At 1:18 PM -0600 4/17/02, Philip Stortz wrote: >shouldn't hurt anything, monitors do vocationally arc inside, usually >caused by gamma rays (the sun is usually the main source), but it >corrects itself usually. this is also the cause of some true computer >errors, gamma rays will turn on transistors if they hit the right part >and flip bits in memory, it's a very weak effect, there aren't that many >gamma rays and they have to hit the right spot for it to matter, but it >does happen infrequently and randomly, especially now that we're >entering another high spot in sunspot activity. now if you hear it >arcing i'd be more concerned.
Once upon a time I was the hardware support on a project using PS/2 model 70s. One of the QA people testing the software called me down to look at a machine one day. It had a parity error. When they asked me what could cause it I somewhat flippantly said "Cosmic Rays". They didn't believe me. I then told them I was serious. I don't know if they ever truly believed me but it is true. I remember reading an article about that time saying that a new problem facing IC manufacturers was that alpha particles from decay of naturally occurring radioactive isotopes in the plastic used to make the IC case could cause either a soft or hard error (I don't recall which off hand). Actually cosmic rays are more likely than gamma. The earth's atmosphere blocks most of the longer wavelength gammas but doesn't do much to the cosmic rays. At the place where this happened our product was a machine that produced high energy X-Rays (4-35 MV) at significant intensity so the effects of X-Rays on semiconductors was of great importance to us. If you don't know, most Macs don't do parity checking of memory and most older pcs did. I heard people tout it as an advantage. The problem is that all it does is to stop whatever is happening and force you to restart the computer. I never thought it was worth the trouble. -- Clark Martin Redwood City, CA, USA Macintosh / Internet Consulting [EMAIL PROTECTED] "I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway" -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Macintosh? Get free email and more at Applelinks! <http://www.applelinks.com>
