On Tue, 25 Jul 2006 16:14:45 +1000, "Phil Allison" Gave us:
There is a difference between a circuit board in a box in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness *in an oxygen environment* and a circuit board in a dielectric fluid.
One does not condensate water, and the other does. Can you guess which is which?
For the most part, components can work well below their rated temperatures. The rating is just the range where a certain (declared) level of operation can be expected. It by no means declares the temperature at which a part fails to operate. Most parts will work better colder.