Magic smoke
Magic Smoke (English for: Magical smoke , also called Blue Smoke ) is a fictional substance that is said to be responsible for the functioning of electrical components .
background
If the wiring is incorrect, electronic components can be destroyed with clearly perceptible smoke development. This applies not only to semiconductor components such as transistors or integrated circuits , but also to capacitors , in particular electrolytic capacitors , transformers or even circuit boards . Due to the various chemical components of these components, the smoke is often colored when destroyed, which underlines the “magical” impression.
According to the joke , electronic components are filled with a certain amount of magic smoke during manufacture. This is responsible for the functioning of the component. If the smoke is let out of the component, it is defective and no longer works. This joke is a game of causality : If a component "fumes", ie the magic smoke is let out, the component no longer works, so the smoke is responsible for the function. Sometimes it is also mentioned that the magic smoke cannot be "filled" back into the component, so the component is irreparably destroyed.
use
The first time a new module is switched on is often called a smoke test , because circuit errors such as incorrectly polarized capacitors are noticeable due to their destruction associated with smoke development. It is in this case the smoke let out (ger .: Letting the smoke out ) or fuming spoken of a device.
The term has been taken up in various specialist books or manuals.
Individual evidence
- ^ John R. Barnes: Robust electronic design reference book . Kluwer Academic Publ., 2004, ISBN 978-1-4020-7739-5 . Pp. 20–11 ( online )
- ↑ Handbook Eden WT800C guitar amplifier (PDF file; 835 kB) p. 19
Web links
- Magic smoke in the Jargon File (English)
- The Blue Smoke Theory ( Memento from March 31, 2007 in the Internet Archive )