1.1.3: Input, Output, Storage Flashcards
1
Q
How does Optical Storage work?
A
- Read from and written to using lasers
- Binary information is represented by portions of the disc that either reflect or scatter the incident laser written in the spiral tracks on the disc’s surface
2
Q
What are Pits in terms of Optical Storage?
A
- Indented portions of the Optical disc
- Scatter light
- Represent 0
3
Q
What are Lands in terms of Optical Storage?
A
- Flat portions of the Optical disc
- Reflect light
- Represent 1
4
Q
What are CDs used for?
A
- Compact Disc
- Storing small quantities of information, commonly audio files, or text and digital images
5
Q
What are DVDs used for?
A
- Digital Versatile Disc
- Higher storage capacity than CDs, making them suitable to storing digital videos which require more storage than audio files or photos
6
Q
What are Blu-Rays used for?
A
- More than 5 times more storage than DVDs, making them useful for storing high resolution films
7
Q
How does Magnetic Storage work?
A
- Devices storing information magnetically represent binary using polarised and unpolarised magnetic states
8
Q
What is Polarised in terms of Magnetic Storage?
A
- All magnetic poles align and can be read by a read/write head passing over the region
9
Q
What is Unpolarised in terms of Magnetic Storage?
A
- Magnetic poles are randomly scattered and produce a different reading on the read/write head
10
Q
How do HDDs work?
A
- Typically have high capacities and work by rotating magnetic platters at high speeds under a read/write head on an actuating arm
- The combination of the arm and rotating platter allows the read/write head to access any part of the platter
11
Q
How does Flash Storage work?
A
- Fast and compact
- Make use of silicon semiconductors forming NAND and NOR logic gates to store electrical charge in one of two states to represent the binary values (high or low)
12
Q
What are the benefits of Flash Storage?
A
- Can be erased and reprogrammed electronically
- Is non-volatile
13
Q
What is NAND used for?
A
- For storing large files such as photos and videos
14
Q
What is NOR used for?
A
- For storing small quantities of data, such as code to be executed
15
Q
How do the CAPACITIES of the Storage types compare?
A
- OPTICAL: Up to roughly 50GB per disc
- MAGNETIC: Up to and including 15TB
- SSD: Up to about 4TB