[colug-432] What causes electronics to expire?: 無

[jep200404 at columbus.rr.com]

On Thu Dec 13 12:31:46 EST 2012, Joshua Kramer <joskra42.list at gmail.com> wrote:

> So I wonder what, barring an external physical event, causes a transistor
> or two to work one day, and then the next, say, "you know what?  I've had
> enough on/off cycles in my lifetime, I quit!"

To which on Thu Dec 13 12:53:23 EST 2012, Rob Funk <rfunk at funknet.net> replied:

> The transistors themselves don't tend to break down over time like that 
> (they're essentially made of rock!), but they are usually sensitive to 
> voltage surges, such as from discharging static electricity.

To reinforce that, read the comment about semiconductors in general in 
the tunnel diode article[1]. It's fantastic that Esaki[2] is still 
around to test old devices. 

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esaki_diode#Longevity
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Esaki