Comment on The probability of losing your life to a cosmic ray bit-flip is increasing daily

favrion@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

• towerful@programming.dev ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  More computers dealing with more parts of your life increases the chance that a bit flip has a negative effect

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  • favrion@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    What is a bit flip?

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    • Forester@yiffit.net ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Computers store everything as electric current. If the current is on it’s a one. If the current is off it’s a zero. High energy particles from outer space regularly blast through our upper atmosphere into the Earth passing through most solid matter. These high energy particles can induce the electric currents when they impact computer components. These erant currents can cause to become a zero or a zero to become a one. This can have all kinds of interesting effects depending on which zero and one got changed when and where. Normally this causes a crash of the program or operating system.

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