Zinc whiskers: hidden cause of equipment failure

If you manage a data center, especially one that sits on a raised floor, zinc whiskers might eventually have an impact on your operations. Zinc whiskers, as the name implies, are tiny hair-like filaments of zinc that actually grow from certain zinc-coated metal surfaces. Zinc whiskers are typically less than a few millimeters long and only a few thousandths of a millimeter wide. Because of their miniscule dimensions, zinc whiskers can be extremely difficult to see without magnification and proper illumination.