[sdiy] Tin Whiskers

[Senso]

>One thing that is suspected to cause them (or at least
>where they pop up a lot) is where the metal is bent or
>has some pressure/stress on it... would a lacquer
>coating work, or would they grow out through the
>coating? I imagine most coatings would be pretty thin.

Extremely thin, but that would solve the problem. The whiskers 
themselves are not the real problem; even if they could grow through 
the coating (which they shouldn't), they would not be able to 
electrically penetrate through to another coated surface, unless 
we're talking high voltages.

>Hmmmmm. There are companies that have said they have
>developed alloys that resist whiskering, but nobody's
>talking as of yet.

NASA is already working on it, so we can all go to sleep safely.
http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/experiment/exp1/index.html

But watch out for government press releases. As soon as they say "We 
are aware of the problem and everything is under control", it's time 
for major mind blowing panic. ;-)

Senso



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