bathtub curve

From S23Wiki

	This is the JargonFile (V4.00) entry for bathtub curve - Next: baud, Prev: batch
:bathtub curve: /n./ Common term for the curve (resembling an end-to-end section of one of those claw-footed antique bathtubs) that describes the expected failure rate of electronics with time: initially high, dropping to near 0 for most of the systems lifetime, then rising again as it tires out. See also burn-in period, infant mortality.
* (text is auto-included via JargonExtension by mutante using jargon with VERSION 4.0.0, 24 JUL 1996 - JargonFile by Eric S. Raymond is in the public domain)