Floating zinc whiskers strike at PC systems

The latest problem to afflict system administrators, already plagued by continuous Microsoft Windows patch applying is a phenomenon called Zinc Whiskers, according to the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association.

The conductive whiskers, according to the organisation, float around in the air in computer rooms which use galvanised zinc in their construction.

The demonic whiskers then float into computer systems and because they conduct electricity can cause short circuits on printed circuit boards (PCBs).

The whiskers can be as long as two to three millimeters but are only two microns thick, says JEITA.

Even paint cannot prevent the whiskers, the organisation said.

You can find the warning message in Japanese, here -- and then apply old Babelfish to it. µ

* A READER POINTS out that the infamous zinc whiskers problem isn't that new, and appears to have been discovered in 1948! And here's some more information on the problem.

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