Computers as a Second LanguageComputers as a Second LanguageComputer Fundamentals
WHAT ARE FLOPPY DISKS AND HARD
DISKS? A floppy disk is a
circular piece of very thin plastic coated with
microscopic-sized iron particles. It is used to store computer information much
like a digital audio tape stores music and songs. Like an audio tape, a floppy
disk can be erased and reused over and over again. A hard disk drive contains
circular platters of highly polished steel which can
also store computer information and can be erased and reused.Floppy disks are 3.5" in diameter. They
are protected from damage by being contained within vinyl or plastic sleeves
which inhibit dust or fingerprints from coming into contact with the disk's
surface. In order to work, floppy disks are inserted into a disk drive which is
a device which rotates the disk much as a record player rotates a record. A
tiny head, much like the stylus (needle) on a record player, passes over the
surface of the floppy disk to access any part of the disk's surface. A hard
disk drive works in essentially the same manner, however, its steel disks are
permanently contained inside a sealed cabinet rather than being inserted and
removed by the computer user.Hard disks can
store much more information than floppy disks. A typical hard disk today can
store 6,000,000,000 bytes (6,000 MB) to 75,000,000,000 bytes
(75,000 MB) of computer information. A typical floppy disk can
store 1,440,000 bytes (1.44 MB) of information. Furthermore,
hard disk drives are much faster (as much as 100 times faster) than floppy
drives in transferring information to and from the computer's RAM. |
