Hi Tom - interesting question as the use of cryogenic treatment of metals is not a new subject. There are a number of established companies who "cryotreat" gears, tooling, stamping dies, forgings, etc. for improved material properties. Just like in the heat treatment of metals, the metallic grain structure(s) are changed to alter a specific physical characteristic such as hardness, tensile strength, elongation, etc. . However, printed wiring assemblies are not comprised of metals only and a cryotreatment could have serious impact on the organic materials (e.g laminate, plastics, silicon die) so I would be highly skeptical that such a treatment would provide a universal beneficial response. Dave Hillman Rockwell Collins [log in to unmask] Tom Stearns <[log in to unmask]> Sent by: TechNet <[log in to unmask]> 05/17/2007 08:37 PM Please respond to TechNet E-Mail Forum <[log in to unmask]>; Please respond to Tom Stearns <[log in to unmask]> To [log in to unmask] cc Subject [TN] Friday TechnoTopic There is a process in High End Audio which purports to enhance equipment performance , called CryoTreatment. In this process the audio gear is subjected to a ramp down to -281F (or cooler, but not below -320F), followed by a soak of 20 to 40 hours, followed by a specific warm-up cycle back to R/T. It is postulated that the technical explanation for the enormous listening benefits of the process is a re-arrangement or refinement of the crystal structure of the conductor metals. The effect is so powerful that objective listeners reported a significant improvement in audio quality when the AC power cord for a preamp was so treated. I doubt my aging ears are responsive to subtleties of this nature. Anybody care to estimate how an electronic assembly, surface-mount or otherwise, including semiconductor devices, would fare thru this process? Tom Stearns 3 Brander Court Nashua, NH 03063 --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 15.0 To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------