FrIEEEghtening Failures
This infamous explosion in 1986 led to the worst nuclear disaster in history, releasing massive amounts of radiation across Europe.
What is the Chernobyl disaster?
IEEE is the abbreviation for this
What is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers?
This type of current flows back and forth in a circuit, like a ghost wandering aimlessly.
What is alternating current (AC)?
“This 1931 movie, based on the novel by Mary Shelley, features a scientist using electricity as part of the process to bring his iconic green monster to life”
What is Frankenstein?
This computer term is abbreviated GUI.
What is a Graphical User Interface?
A simple unit conversion error caused this spacecraft to miss its target and burn up in Mars’ atmosphere in 1999.
What is the Mars Climate Orbiter?
IEEE has developed these popular, common technology standards.
What are Wi-Fi, LAN, Bluetooth, Ethernet?
In digital circuits, this spooky-sounding phenomenon refers to temporary incorrect outputs due to the difference in signal arrival times.
What is a glitch?
“This 2002 movie features a cursed videotape, a scene where a character commits suicide by electrocution, and a ghost crawling out of a television.”
What is The Ring?
This popular Halloween candy was originally known as “chicken feed”.
What is candy corn?
In 1962, this missile crisis nearly led the U.S. and the Soviet Union into nuclear war, all due to high tensions and a lack of clear communication.
What is the Cuban Missile Crisis?
The name of the popular annual IEEE Region 3 conference which includes a robotics competition Vanderbilt competes in.
What is SoutheastCon?
When an alternating current flows at a frequency close to the natural frequency of a circuit, it can cause this eerie phenomenon, which can lead to damage.
What is resonance?
“This 2014 movie, originally titled Cybernatural, is told entirely through a screencast of a Macbook, about a Skype call between high school friends that takes a deadly turn.”
What is Unfriended?
Who is Tux?
This 2018 data breach exposed the personal information of over 50 million Facebook users and led to widespread distrust in online privacy.
What is the Cambridge Analytica scandal?
The name of the IEEE flagship publication on research in electrical and computer engineering.
What is IEEE Spectrum?
When voltage in a circuit suddenly spikes, it can cause this haunting electrical issue, sometimes damaging sensitive components.
What is an overvoltage or surge?
“This sci-fi short story first published in 1967 described a supercomputer called AM that becomes sentient and possesses an extreme hatred for its creators”
What is I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream?
What is Mars Wrigley?
In 1996, this rocket exploded just 40 seconds after launch due to a software error caused by an integer overflow.
What is the Ariane 5 rocket?
One of the only sections outside the United States of IEEE Region 3 that typically is associated with Southeast NA.
What is Jamaica or the Bahamas?
This rare but frightening circuit failure occurs when electric charges jump between conductors, leading to sparks and even fires.
What is an arc fault?
“This cult classic 2001 Japanese techno-horror film, with a much less well-received 2006 English adaptation by the same name, follows ghosts that invade the living world through the Internet.”
What is Pulse?
This year marked the invention of the first camera, called a heliograph, as well as the publishing of Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein”.
What is 1816?