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burn-in period: n. 1. A factory test designed to catch systems with
marginal components before they get out the door;
the theory is that burn-in will protect customers by outwaiting the
steepest part of the bathtub curve (see
infant mortality). 2. A period of indeterminate length in which a person using a
computer is so intensely involved in his project that he forgets basic
needs such as food, drink, sleep, etc. Warning: Excessive burn-in can lead
to burn-out. See hack mode,
larval stage. Historical note: the origin of “burn-in” (sense 1) is
apparently the practice of setting a new-model airplane's brakes on fire,
then extinguishing the fire, in order to make them hold better. This was
done on the first version of the U.S. spy-plane, the U-2.
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