The term is usually used in reference to Unix and Unix-like operating systems such as Linux and BSD. It is similar to the condition of Windows operating systems known as the blue screen of death. When an operating system panics, it writes the contents of kernel memory (a core dump) to disk for later debugging. It then halts all CPU operation and either reboots automatically or waits for the user to manually reboot the machine. A kernel panic is different than a system crash.”]
Source: https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/k/kernel-panic.htm