A Mario 64 speedrunner suddenly gets teleported to a higher platform. An election candidate in Belgium gets four thousand ninety-six more votes than they should have. What caused this, and why does it happen?
Computer bits represent either a one, or a zero. If there are electrons in the electron well of the bit, the bit is a zero. If there are no electrons, then the bit is a one. Alpha particles from radiation generated enough electrons to cause a bit flip. But where do these particles come from. What is the source?
The source is space. Dying stars and black holes, to be precise. The dying stars and black holes emit cosmic rays, which fly through space until they hit the atmosphere. There they split into other types of particles which in turn split into other particles until you have hundreds of particles in the same area. If even one of these particles hits a bit in the right spot, it can cause a bit flip.
This can be very dangerous because if a plane’s onboard computer miscalculates the position, you might find yourself flying into the dirt, or worse, up into space. One way to possibly avoid this is by having 3 onboard computers in different locations, so if one has a bit flip, the other two will overrule it. That way, bit flips can be found and neutralized.
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaZ_RSt0KP8&t=1096s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_ray
https://www.technology.org/2021/09/01/the-universe-is-hostile-to-computers-but-how-exactly/
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Real Martians: How to Protect Astronauts from Space Radiation on Mars
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/aircrew/cosmicionizingradiation.html
