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.