Magic smoke
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The magic smoke (also called blue smoke or magic blue smoke and sometimes prefixed with the definite article) theory is a running in-joke originating among electrical engineers and technicians before more recently being adopted by computer programmers. The magic smoke hypothesis is based on the real-life observation of the emission of blue smoke from microchip packages when the chip has been allowed to overheat or forced to conduct extreme electrical current.
According to the theory, there is a little bit of magic blue smoke in every integrated circuit, resistor, transistor, and all other electronic components and it is this smoke which makes the device work. The magic smoke is put in at the factory when the device is manufactured. High voltages or excessive current supposedly releases the smoke. The humorous proof of the theory is that once the magic smoke has been released, the chip is lacking a key component and no longer works. The smoke thus served an essential part in the device's function. In some variations, it is alleged that the major microchip production companies (especially the large microprocessor manufacturers) are involved in a conspiracy to keep the true nature of their products under wraps.
This has lead to use of the phrase "escaping of blue smoke" as a euphemism for the destruction of a processor (or other integrated circuit) by overheating. When a device is powered on for the first time, it is often called a "smoke test". A variant on the magic smoke theory is the idea that the magic smoke also travels through wires, and in the event that wires get too hot, they too will leak some magic smoke, again making the circuit no longer work. A related term is a "Groundhog Test," in which, if unsuccessful, the technician will see his shadow and spend the next six weeks on the ultimate repair.
