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All chips are photosensitive and a xenon flash produces light from UV through to IR, so my guess would be that the plastic used for the casing on that chip is n
by lotsofmangos 12y ago
All chips are photosensitive and a xenon flash produces light from UV through to IR, so my guess would be that the plastic used for the casing on that chip is not entirely opaque to something at the top or bottom end of the visible spectrum, which is why most bright lights don't trigger it. At a bet, I'd say the top end, as otherwise radiant heaters would also probably kill them. Would be fun to play around with some filters and a flashgun and narrow down the frequency.
- jarvist 12y agoI think it's more likely to be the other way round, a lot of plastics are semi-transparent to IR, all block UV extremely strongly (as you start ionising electrons). For instance, black PVC electrician's tape is entirely transparent to near-infrared, I use this to cover Xenon flashbulbs & still have an infrared-sensitive trigger fire from them.
- lotsofmangos 12y agoThat was my first guess as well, the only reason I discounted it was that then I would expect the effect to happen more often. I could be entirely wrong there however. edit - ars, I'm out of replies, but thanks for that. I think you are probably right.
- ars 12y agoIt probably needs a short pulse. A normal light or a heater is constant and doesn't trigger anything. (AC vs DC.)