Raspberry Pi 2 is afraid of camera flashes

In the mini-computer Raspberry Pi 2, debuted earlier this month, found hardware failures, which consist in a self-reset device when exposed to light from a flash camera. The manufacturer recognizes this glitch, but calls it a "bonus". For the first time the photoelectric effect was discovered by Albert Einstein, who for his efforts received the Nobel Prize. The bottom line is that the sensitive component, reacting to light, generates an electric charge and restarts.

Discussing this feature with the journalists of the BBC, co-founder of Raspberry Pi Eben Upton said that he sees in this is not a problem, but an advantage. According to him, the observed glitch is a "casual bonus educational program", which "demonstrates the photoelectric effect".

The first unpleasant feature was discovered by Peter Onion, a long-time user of Raspberry Pi and an active participant in forums, where miniature computers are discussed. The official blog of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, in turn, called the photoelectric effect "the sweetest bug ever found". Note came out under the name Xenon Death Flash ("Death Xenon flash").

While some users may get confused by this "bonus", the company guarantees that there will be no long-term damage as a result of its action.

The effect can occur only in very specific circumstances. High-intensity light flashes and long-wave light, such as laser pointers and xenon flashes in cameras, can affect the operation of the processor's power control device and cause a voltage drop on the core. It is important to note that only very powerful flares such as xenon and laser are causing the problem, - says the Raspberry Pi Foundation website.

Since the problem does not cause a permanent damage to the hardware filling Raspberry Pi 2, the company promises to protect against the photo effect only future models of its mini-PC.

Raspberry Pi 2, released in the early days of February, offers six times more performance than the original model, and at the same price. The new mini-computer is designed for enthusiasts and students who need an inexpensive machine for experiments with encoding.

The article is based on materials https://hi-news.ru/computers/raspberry-pi-2-boitsya-vspyshek-fotokamer.html.