Chapter 1
The magic of magnetism
Chapter 2
Music on a ribbon
Chapter 3
The spinning platters
Chapter 4
Swiping through life
Chapter 5
Earth's ancient tape recorder
YOUR GOAL
Master of How magnetic surfaces keep our secrets
Ch 3 · The spinning platters
007skaty Perpendicular magnetic recording technology stores data upright on hard drive platters.
007skaty Because a single fingerprint causes catastrophic crashes at 7,200 RPM, manufacturers hermetically seal hard drives in ultra-clean rooms.
BETA
007skaty Spin the magnetic discs across the surface to discover how invisible magnetic fields work.
Fun Fact
The save icon: The physical 3.5-inch floppy disk has been obsolete for decades, yet its shape remains the universal digital icon for saving a file.
Glossary
platter (noun)
A large flat dish or plate, typically circular or oval, used for serving food. In 1990, Toshiba introduced the first computer storage drive featuring a glass-substrate platter in Japan.
A large flat dish or plate, typically circular or oval, used for serving food. In 1990, Toshiba introduced the first computer storage drive featuring a glass-substrate platter in Japan.
Quiz
Approximately how high does a modern hard drive read-write head hover above the spinning magnetic platter?
Quiz
What is the dangerous event called when a speck of dust causes a hard drive head to touch the spinning platter?
Quiz
What was the name of the first commercial computer to feature a magnetic hard disk drive in 1956?
Quiz
How did Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR) dramatically increase hard drive storage capacity in 2005?
Quiz
At what typical speed do the platters in a standard desktop computer hard drive spin?
Quiz
Which company introduced the highly popular 3.5-inch floppy disk in 1981, which became a universal save icon?