hazard

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hazard
1. A situation or event whose realization has the potential for damage to human life, society, the economy, or the environment. See also hazard and operability study.

2. A potential or actual malfunction of a logic circuit during change(s) of state of input variables. Hazards result from the nonideal behavior of actual switching elements, e.g. noninstantaneous operation, turn-on time different from turn-off time.

In the UK the word hazard is sometimes used as the equivalent of race condition.

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