white plague

white plague (uncountable)

1. (medicine) Tuberculosis, especially of the lungs.
2. (chemistry, electronics) The white gold-aluminium intermetallic compound Au₅Al₂, which can be formed when gold and aluminium are heated in direct contact (for instance, at an electrical junction between gold and aluminium components).
   1. (electronics) The problems caused by the formation of this compound, including an increase in electrical resistance and formation of voids at the gold-aluminium junction, potentially culminating in total failure of the junction.

(intermetallic compound):

• purple plague