Picture the scene:

I get called to a PC that won't boot any more. I remove one of the PCI 
cards, and suddenly the PC works perfectly. Hmm.

On closer inspection, one of the ICs on the PCI card looks... Well let's 
put it this way. The writing appears to be scortched. The surface of the 
IC is apparently damp with an oily liquid. There's a bulge in the 
surface of the IC, together with a few small cracks.

Here's a question for you: Why would an IC suddenly do this?

[And more importantly, how in the name of God does a device which only 
has access to a few milliwatts manage to get warm enough to physically 
melt??]

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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