Built-in expiry date

Whether mobile phone or automatic toilets - electronic devices are becoming increasingly complex. And who hasn't heard stories of devices that fail precisely after the warranty has expired? According to Empa researcher Peter Jacob, however, the shorter lifespan is not a malicious "planned obsolescence", but is mainly due to enormous cost pressure. He and his team investigate cases of damage with detective meticulousness. Anyone who purchased a radio around the 1950s spent a large chunk of money on it - but could rely on it being relatively easy to repair in the event of damage. If a modern radio set no longer functions today, it is in most cases disposed of and replaced by a new one. There is a simple reason for this: while the radio from the 1950s consisted of commercially available components and a few easily replaceable standard tubes, today's radios contain electronics with thousands of transistor functions connected in microchips. These chips are usually manufactured for specific applications.