Quite a simple question really. I have a 2TB.. will it weigh more when full than it did when empty? Always wanted to know. Can someone please explain why yes or no if you are knowledgeable on the subject. Thanks.
joshd
Does a hard drive weigh more when full..?
If my credit card has an outstanding balance on it, does it weigh more than it does if I have no balance?
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Not at all. When you write data to an HDD you write zeros and ones, no "mass" for a lack of better words is added to the platters themselves.Originally Posted by joshd
Quite a simple question really. I have a 2TB.. will it weigh more when full than it did when empty? Always wanted to know. Can someone please explain why yes or no if you are knowledgeable on the subject. Thanks.
Why would it weigh more. You're not putting anything into or taking anything physically from the drive lol
No, as everything is made up of 0s and 1s and no physical stuff is being pumped into the hard drive. Interesting question, though.
![smile.gif]( "smile.gif")
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THe HDD isn't actually writing 0s. It is demagnetizing, which the computer translates as a 0.
The platter is divided into many individual region, called bits. Each region is capable of two possible states, either magnetized or demagnetized. One state represents 1 and the other 0.Originally Posted by tahayassen
No. In order to empty a hard drive, you would have to write zeros over all the data.
THe HDD isn't actually writing 0s. It is demagnetizing, which the computer translates as a 0.
I actually read somewhere that it does in fact weigh more when full than when empty because when it is full it has more electrons on it.......don't know if that is true but if it is you would need something that could measure down to the weight of an electron to see the difference.
Edit: Although that might be and ssd and not hdd.
Edit: Although that might be and ssd and not hdd.
does a blank DVD weigh more than a DVD with a movie on it? while we are at it does a region 1 DVD weigh more than a region 2 DVD?
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On DVDs there is a change in mass, owing to the fact that a small amount of the disk material is physically burned away by a laser when a binary '1' is recorded. Therefore, DVDs will have some variability in weight after it's burned.Originally Posted by Squeeker The Cat
does a blank DVD weigh more than a DVD with a movie on it? while we are at it does a region 1 DVD weigh more than a region 2 DVD?
Actually, yes. Sounds pretty unbelievable, but it weights a very unimaginably small amount more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaUzu-iksi8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaUzu-iksi8
If you physically change the orientation of a magnet sitting on a table, do you change its mass? No....
That is basically how hard drives store data, by change the poles of the tiny magnets on the platter's surface. When this is done, no mass is added or created, just simply changing the state of a magnetic field.
That is basically how hard drives store data, by change the poles of the tiny magnets on the platter's surface. When this is done, no mass is added or created, just simply changing the state of a magnetic field.
Theoretically it should weigh less since the air pillow the disk head floats on would wear down the platter by a minuscule amount. However this is completely unmeasurable and it is not really possible to prove this.
EDIT:
I just realised that it actually depends on how much food the hamsters spinning the platters around gets. If they over eat it will obviously weigh more.
EDIT:
I just realised that it actually depends on how much food the hamsters spinning the platters around gets. If they over eat it will obviously weigh more.
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This is what I was about to postOriginally Posted by Sathirian
Actually, yes. Sounds pretty unbelievable, but it weights a very unimaginably small amount more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaUzu-iksi8
Yes I believe it will weigh more when full as opposed to having nothing ever written on it. Not by any amount measureable by us.
I'm glad somebody posted the Vsauce video.
![thumb.gif]( "thumb.gif")
I'm glad somebody posted the Vsauce video.
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Interesting stuff.Originally Posted by Sathirian
Actually, yes. Sounds pretty unbelievable, but it weights a very unimaginably small amount more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaUzu-iksi8
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Yeah that was a real help. Thanks.Originally Posted by TiHawk560
Yes I believe it will weigh more when full as opposed to having nothing ever written on it. Not by any amount measureable by us.
I'm glad somebody posted the Vsauce video.![thumb.gif]( "thumb.gif")
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