Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!munnari.oz.au!comp.vuw.ac.nz!csc.canterbury.ac.nz!elec140
From: elec140@csc.canterbury.ac.nz
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: "Joke....."
Message-ID: <1990Dec8.150634.10141@csc.canterbury.ac.nz>
Date: 8 Dec 90 03:33:03 GMT
References: <1990Dec6.231300.28710@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>
Organization: University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
Lines: 27

In article <1990Dec6.231300.28710@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>, chik@eecg.toronto.edu (Raymond Chik) writes:
> The following is a joke taken from a student newspaper published
> by our Dept. of EE.
>
> 	###First Law of EE:
> 	Electronics devices work on smoke; as long as the
> 	smoke stays inside the components, they work,
> 	but when the smoke escapes, they don't!
>

We'd always been told it was compressed smoke. Devices such as power
transistors and MOSFET's have to handle larger currents, hence they require
higher pressure smoke. A side effect of this is that if they develop leaks, the
higher pressure can cause the failure to be quite spectacular.

*********************************************************
Chris Kaiser
Postgrad - Elec Eng Dept
Canterbury University
Christchurch, NEW ZEALAND

E.MAIL: kaiser@elec.canterbury.ac.nz
*********************************************************
	"When you're fresh out of lawyers
 	 You don't know how good it's gonna feel"
		- Al Stewart, 1988
*********************************************************