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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007The "Manhattan Effect"?
When you assemble a printed circuit board using surface mount components, they should all lie nice and flat against the board. They put a dab of superglue (BrE = cyanacrylic adhesive) under them so that they can run the board through a molten-solder fountain to solder the components in place. But if the solder is not at the correct temperature, or there has been moisture from the manual assembler on the board, then the components can sometimes be disturbed and lie in irregular positions. They stick up at WeIrD angles and generally look untidy. This effect is known in the trade as the "Manhattan Effect". Is there some property or incident that leads Manhattan into some form of eponymic relationship with the English language? I could understand the "Berlin Effect", "Vietnam Effect", or even "Baghdad Effect". So what is so special about Manhattan? FYI, I have never been to Manhattan, but I presume the effect has something to do with the landscape. To my knowledge nothing catastrophic has ever happened in Manhattan in history. The only incident I can find is the updraft in tall buildings that resulted in the advent of the revolving door by Theophilus Van Kannel, to prevent raging hurricanes in tall hotel receptions (Aug 1888). >When you assemble a printed circuit board using surface mount components, >they should all lie nice and flat against the board. They put a dab of >superglue (BrE = cyanacrylic adhesive) under them so that they can run the >board through a molten-solder fountain to solder the components in place. Super Glue(R) is a trademark. The generic term in AmE is cyanoacrylate [adhesive|glue]. -GAWollman  SignatureGarrett A. Wollman | The real tragedy of human existence is not that we are wollman@csail.mit.edu| nasty by nature, but that a cruel structural asymmetry Opinions not those | grants to rare events of meanness such power to shape of MIT or CSAIL. | our history. - S.J. Gould, Ten Thousand Acts of Kindness wollman@csail.mit.edu had it: > >When you assemble a printed circuit board using surface mount components, > >they should all lie nice and flat against the board. They put a dab of [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Super Glue(R) is a trademark. The generic term in AmE is > cyanoacrylate [adhesive|glue]. Whereas the BrE colloquial term for the stuff is "superglue". SignatureDavid ===== > wollman@csail.mit.edu had it: > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Whereas the BrE colloquial term for the stuff is "superglue". And not, therefore, AFAIK, a trademark. Also in US law enforcement: http://onin.com/fp/cyanoho.html "Super Glue is a trademark name for one specific product, but the term "superglue" or "super glue" is commonly used in law enforcement fingerprint development work to mean any of a great number of cyanoacrylate products." SignatureJohn Dean Oxford > wollman@csail.mit.edu had it: > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Whereas the BrE colloquial term for the stuff is "superglue". AmE has both "crazy glue" and "superglue" -- both genericized trademarks, as well as the echt-generic "cyanoacrylate". SignatureRoland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food. NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it. >wollman@csail.mit.edu had it: > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >Whereas the BrE colloquial term for the stuff is "superglue". As it is in the USA. Signature************* DAVE HATUNEN (hatunen@cox.net) ************* * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps * > >Whereas the BrE colloquial term for the stuff is "superglue". > > As it is in the USA. >From a page headed "Cyanoacrylate (Superglue) Fuming Tips " for law enforcement workers:- "Super Glue is a trademark name for one specific product, but the term "superglue" or "super glue" is commonly used in law enforcement fingerprint development work to mean any of a great number of cyanoacrylate products." I don't know very much about trademark law - If "Super Glue", capital S capital G is a trademark name, what is the status of variants like Superglue, superglue, SuperGlue, etc? (How I hate embedded capitals). Aha! I just found a page of advice about protecting trademarks which says: "Don't let your mark become generic. A trademark can become generic when it becomes recognized by the public as the common name for a product, rather than an indication of the source of the product. For example, Shredded Wheat, Thermos and Super Glue are all former trademarks. Notify anyone using your mark in a generic sense to cease and desist. " Another says "Super Glue, after a costly court battle, was deemed generic when used on a strong, rapid setting glue and not entitled to trademark protection." Thus these:- 'Super-Glue'' is a trademark of Chemence, Ltd Duro? Superglue is a trademark of Loctite Corporation Once you use Permabond Super Glue, you'll never buy another super glue. Handibond - Manufacturer of cyanoacrylate adhesives and super glue accelerators > Once you use Permabond Super Glue, you'll never buy another super glue. The strangest property of superglue is that once you have used it, the tube (or tubes, when they come in pairs) disappear, so I always have to buy a new one. I have discovered that the brand has no effect on on its disappearing abilities. SignatureRob Bannister >> Once you use Permabond Super Glue, you'll never buy another super >> glue. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > have to buy a new one. I have discovered that the brand has no effect > on on its disappearing abilities. Mine don't disappear, but the remaining glue hardens so that I have to throw out the entire tube. The solution, I've found, is to buy the smallest tubes in packs of 10 from one of those "Extra Less Prices" places, and don't count on using any tube more than once. You might get a longer life if you put the lid back on before the long and tedious process of trying to remove the tube from your fingers and your fingers from one another. SignaturePeter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org Please note the changed e-mail and web addresses. The domain eepjm.newcastle.edu.au no longer exists, and I can no longer receive mail at my newcastle.edu.au addresses. The optusnet address could disappear at any time. >>> Once you use Permabond Super Glue, you'll never buy another super >>> glue. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >and tedious process of trying to remove the tube from your fingers and >your fingers from one another. What they don't tell you on the package, but quoting from Wikipedia: "Generally, cyanoacrylate is an acrylic resin which rapidly polymerises in the presence of water (specifically hydroxide ions), forming long, strong chains, joining the bonded surfaces together. Because the presence of moisture causes the glue to set, exposure to moisture in the air can cause a tube or bottle of glue to become unusable over time. To prevent an opened container of glue from setting before use, it must be stored in an airtight jar or bottle with a package of silica gel." Signature************* DAVE HATUNEN (hatunen@cox.net) ************* * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps * >>When you assemble a printed circuit board using surface mount components, >>they should all lie nice and flat against the board. They put a dab of [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Super Glue(R) is a trademark. The generic term in AmE is > cyanoacrylate [adhesive|glue]. My mind is now filled with visions of American kids screaming out "Johnny put cyanoacrylate on my chair". Somehow, I find this slightly unbelievable. SignatureRob Bannister >>>When you assemble a printed circuit board using surface mount components, >>>they should all lie nice and flat against the board. They put a dab of [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >"Johnny put cyanoacrylate on my chair". Somehow, I find this slightly >unbelievable. "Generic" is not a synonym for "popular" or "colloquial". Signature************* DAVE HATUNEN (hatunen@cox.net) ************* * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps * > When you assemble a printed circuit board . . . the components can > sometimes be disturbed and lie in irregular positions. They stick up at [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > to do with the landscape. To my knowledge nothing catastrophic has ever > happened in Manhattan in history. The Manhattan skyline has been famous for 100 years (and 100 years ago it was unique among the cities of the world.) It is seen from the sea as an aggregation of different-looking towers in an unplanned or haphazard arrangement. This may be the source of your phrase. Destruction of the World Trade Centre (9/11) is the most catastrophic event in Manhattan's history (unless you count various diseases, e.g. cholera or influenza.) SignatureDon Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) > Destruction of the World Trade Centre (9/11) is the > most catastrophic event in Manhattan's history (unless > you count various diseases, e.g. cholera or influenza.) "Most catastrophic" is hard to measure, but 1776 was a bad year in Manhattan: there was an enormous fire, and the Battle of Harlem Heights. SignatureSML >> Destruction of the World Trade Centre (9/11) is the >> most catastrophic event in Manhattan's history (unless [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Manhattan: there was an enormous fire, and the Battle of Harlem > Heights. It's relative. The Lenape thought 1624 was cataclysmic when they realised the $24 was for the whole thing. SignatureJohn Dean Oxford >>> Destruction of the World Trade Centre (9/11) is the most >>> catastrophic event in Manhattan's history (unless you count [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > It's relative. The Lenape thought 1624 was cataclysmic when they > realised the $24 was for the whole thing. You've got it backward: You mean all those trees wasn't part? Yes. Laugh on you. Whole island solid concrete. Nothing grow except in little square place in middle of island. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |If we have to re-invent the wheel, 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |can we at least make it round this Palo Alto, CA 94304 |time? kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ >When you assemble a printed circuit board using surface mount components, >they should all lie nice and flat against the board. They put a dab of [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >by Theophilus Van Kannel, to prevent raging hurricanes in tall hotel >receptions (Aug 1888). This could be a reference to the Manhattan Project, the World War 2 project in the US to develop the first nuclear weapons. The phrase "Manhattan Effect" might be used to suggest that the components look like buildings that have been pushed into unnatural positions by a nuclear explosion. (Just a guess.) SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) >This could be a reference to the Manhattan Project, the World War 2 >project in the US to develop the first nuclear weapons. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >(Just a guess.) And probably a bad guess. I withdraw it. SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) > >Is there some property or incident that leads Manhattan into some form of > >eponymic relationship with the English language? I could understand the [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > components look like buildings that have been pushed into unnatural > positions by a nuclear explosion. I had also guessed something similar, but then again I have never lived there, so I do not know if there is anything "special" about the city, other than the landscape. Anyway, many thanks to you and all who have replied. Best regards from Harry > So what is so > special about Manhattan? Its skyline. Manhattan's is the canonical high-rise skyline. Also called the tombstone effect, drawbridging or stonehenging. Manhattan effect particularly when the component which is supposed to lie horizontal is pulled up into a vertical or near vertical position. Viewed side-on, the PCB looks like the famous Manhattan skyline. If the component is at an angle between horizontal and vertical it looks like a partly open drawbridge. If many components are pulled up to various near-vertical positions, the effect is like a graveyard full of leaning tombstones. Stonehenge is a neolithic monument in England with vertical stones, some with bridge pieces joining two verticals. > ....To my knowledge nothing catastrophic has ever > happened in Manhattan in history. ------------------ Well, I guess 5 1/2 years ago is prehistoric. How old *are* you? DianeE > > ....To my knowledge nothing catastrophic has ever > > happened in Manhattan in history. > ------------------ > Well, I guess 5 1/2 years ago is prehistoric. How old *are* you? > > DianeE Given the references to Berlin, Baghdad, and Hanoi, I think we can safely say he's being ironic. You do have irony on the left side of the pond? > > > ....To my knowledge nothing catastrophic has ever > > > happened in Manhattan in history. > Given the references to Berlin, Baghdad, and Hanoi, I think we can > safely say he's being ironic. Or even more likely, a troll. > > > ....To my knowledge nothing catastrophic has ever > > > happened in Manhattan in history. > > ------------------ > > Well, I guess 5 1/2 years ago is prehistoric. How old *are* you? > Given the references to Berlin, Baghdad, and Hanoi, I think we can > safely say he's being ironic. You do have irony on the left side of the > pond? -------------------- We do, but it's usually funnier than that. I see now that the O.P. was using "catastrophe" to mean "widespread bombing by American armed forces." Thanks for the correction! DianeE >When you assemble a printed circuit board using surface mount components, >they should all lie nice and flat against the board. They put a dab of [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >WeIrD angles and generally look untidy. This effect is known in the trade as >the "Manhattan Effect". The 'trade' also uses Purple Plague to describe an effect on ICs when the metallization becomes discolored. >Is there some property or incident that leads Manhattan into some form of >eponymic relationship with the English language? I could understand the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >by Theophilus Van Kannel, to prevent raging hurricanes in tall hotel >receptions (Aug 1888). |
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