When I was growing up, you had to keep magnets away from computers and other electronics. Magnets could single-handedly wipe drive and disk, and could play havoc with cables transmitting data. It was generally taught to me that these two should not be mixed with, barring the proper housing. However, magnets are everywhere with modern electronics and computers and it’s something that has been quietly puzzling me for quite some time now. Please someone, explain how this can be. I know there is a very simple answer to it, but my brain can’t conceptualize it.
In: 10
Devices used to rely pretty heavily on magnetism to function:
Data is/was commonly stored on floppy discs, hdds, cassette tapes, etc. All of which store their data in magnetic fields.
CRT TVs use magnetic fields to move an electron beam around drawing the image on the screen.
Bringing magnets near these devices interferees with the magnetic fields in the device causing problems. Maybe it just screwes up an image for a bit, maybe it permanently erases critical data that you don’t have another means of recovering.
Nowadays, data is mostly stored via electrical signals and the state of transistors in a flash memory module (within smalll devices like your phone). No magnets involved, so external magnetism isn’t an issue.
Magnetic storage is still used ofc (HDDs and tape drives). While it’s limitations are more understood and magnetic storage devices are better engineered to withstand exterior interface, they are still susceptible to some extent. Don’t go waving neodymium magnets at your pc hdd. Your gonna have a bad time.
TVs don’t use magnets anymore either. LEDs, LCD, etc. Cathode Ray Tubes are a thing of the past.
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