Apparently adding computer data to a drive adds a tiny amount of mass to the drive but I don’t understand how, since surely the number of 0 and 1 changing shouldn’t change the mass of the media.
In: 0
It depends on the type of storage you’re talking about.
Magnetic storage, like hard drives and tape, just changes the configuration (flipping magnetic fields) but doesn’t add/remove mass.
Flash memory and it’s relatives, like solid state drives (SDDs), stores and removed charges. So they actually add and remove electrons from the drive. It’s not very many, and electrons are REALLY light, so it’s essentially undetectable, but technically those types of drives gain mass when they charge their storage cells.
Latest Answers