Lesson plan
Alpha strike (engineering)
Alpha strike is a term referring to the event when an alpha particle, a composite charged particle composed of two protons and two neutrons, enters a computer and modifies the data or operation of a component in the computer. Alpha strikes can disturb the silicon substrate of the transistors in a computer through their electronic stopping power, causing the transistor to flip states if the charge imparted by the strike crosses a critical threshold (QCrit). This, in turn, can corrupt the information stored by that transistor and create a cascading effect on the operation of the component that encases it.
Article summary
Alpha strike is a term referring to the event when an alpha particle, a composite charged particle composed of two protons and two neutrons, enters a computer and modifies the data or operation of a component in the computer. Alpha strikes can disturb the silicon substrate of the transistors in a computer through their electronic stopping power, causing the transistor to flip states if the charge imparted by the strike crosses a critical threshold (QCrit). This, in turn, can corrupt the information stored by that transistor and create a cascading effect on the operation of the component that encases it.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.