Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
data.there..In.most.cases,.these.components.are.made.up.of.
computer.chips.mounted.on.a.plastic.“stick.”
Each. of. these. computer. chips. does. its. part. to. store. all.
of.those.ones.and.zeros.as.magnetic.changes.in.its.internal.
structure..Again,.as.the.technology.has.evolved.these.chips.
have.become.smaller.and.smaller.and.are.able.to.store.more.
and. more. data.. However,. as. we. noted. above,. RAM. main-
tains.the.state.of.those.ones.and.zeros.by.virtue.of.a.constant.
supply.of.electronic.energy..Within.a.very.short.time.of.that.
energy.being.removed,.all.of.the.data.return.to.a.resting.state.
and.any.information.stored.there.is.gone.
Optical.storage.media.uses.laser.beams.to.burn.pits.into.
special.media.on.disks.such.as.CDs.and.DVDs..Those.bumps.
burned.onto.a.disk.in.a.spiral.form.from.inside.to.out.repre-
sent.those.same.ones.and.zeros..Some.optical.storage.disks.
can.only.be.written.to.once,.while.others.can.be.reused.and.
have.the.old.data.written.over.or.erased.
*
These.storage.media.are.very.portable.and.can.hold.a.rel-
atively.large.amount.of.data,.so.they.are.often.used.to.store,.
archive,. and. transport. information.. They. are. also. used. for.
music,.movies,.and.computer.game.distribution..When.these.
are.damaged.they.can.be.very.dificult.to.recover.data.from..
However,.again.with.the.right.tools.and.skills,.it.is.sometimes.
possible.to.do.so.
Floppy.disk.drives.are.not.used.much.anymore,.but.it.is.
still. quite. possible. that. you. might. ind. data. stored. on. these.
media.as.they.were.very.popular.and.widely.used.in.the.not.
too.distant.past..There.are.a.wide.variety.of.types.and.sizes.
of.loppy.disks.and.other.devices.that.use.this.basic.storage.
engineering,.and.we.talked.about.those.earlier..But.the.way.
they. store. data. is. similar. to. that. of. the. hard. drive.. The. dif-
ference.is.that.they.most.often.only.use.one.platter.and.it.is.
made.of.a.lexible.material.(thus.the.term.loppy).that.is.held.
inside.of.a.solid.case.
*.
eHow,. Dan. Keen,. What. Are. Optical. Storage. Devices?:. http://www.ehow.
com/about_5082834_optical-storage-devices.html..Retrieved.2011-02-21.
