Editing Capacitor plague (section)

{{Short description|Period of high failure rate of capacitors}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
[[File:Al-Elko-bad-caps-Wiki-07-02-17.jpg|thumb|right|Failed aluminium electrolytic capacitors with open vents in the top of the can, and visible dried electrolyte residue (reddish-brown color)]]

The '''capacitor plague''' was a problem related to a higher-than-expected failure rate of non-solid [[aluminium electrolytic capacitor]]s between 1999 and 2007, especially those from some Taiwanese manufacturers,<ref name= Paumanok>{{cite journal |author=D. M. Zogbi|publisher=Paumanok Publications|journal=Passive Component Industry|url=http://old.passivecomponentmagazine.com/files/archives/2002/PCI_02_05Sept-Oct.pdf|volume=4|number=5|date=September 2002|title=Low-ESR Aluminium Electrolytic Failures Linked to Taiwanese Raw Material Problems|pages=10, 12, 31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303234525/http://old.passivecomponentmagazine.com/files/archives/2002/PCI_02_05Sept-Oct.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-03|access-date=2018-06-15}}</ref><ref name=PCTools>[https://web.archive.org/web/20171009174242/http://www.pctools.com/security-news/faulty-capacitors/ The Capacitor Plague, Posted on 26 November 2010 by PC Tools]</ref> due to faulty [[electrolyte]] composition that caused [[corrosion]] accompanied by gas generation; this often resulted in rupturing of the case of the capacitor from the build-up of [[pressure]].

High [[failure rate]]s occurred in many well-known brands of electronics, and were particularly evident in [[motherboard]]s, [[video card]]s, and [[power supply unit (computer)|power supplies]] of [[personal computer]]s.

A 2003 article in ''[[The Independent]]'' claimed that the cause of the faulty capacitors was due to a mis-copied formula. In 2001, a scientist working in the [[Rubycon Corporation]] in Japan stole a mis-copied formula for capacitors' electrolytes. He then took the faulty formula to the Luminous Town Electric company in China, where he had previously been employed. In the same year, the scientist's staff left China, stealing again the mis-copied formula and moving to Taiwan, where they created their own company, producing capacitors and propagating even more of this faulty formula of capacitor electrolytes.<ref name=IndArthur20030531>{{cite news |last1=Arthur |first1=Charles |title=Stolen formula for capacitors causing computers to burn out |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/stolen-formula-for-capacitors-causing-computers-to-burn-out-106907.html |date=31 May 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525153000/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/stolen-formula-for-capacitors-causing-computers-to-burn-out-106907.html |archive-date=25 May 2015 |url-status=live |newspaper=The Independent |department=Business News |access-date=16 January 2020}}</ref>