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WD Builds High-Capacity, Helium-Filled HDDs
Lucas123 writes "Western Digital subsidiary HGST today announced that after 10 years of development it is preparing to release 3.5-in data center-class HDDs that are hermetically sealed with helium inside. The helium reduces drag and wind turbulence created by the spinning platters, all but eliminating track misregistration that has become a major issue to increasing drive density in recent years. Because of that, HGST will be able to add two more platters along with increasing the tracks per inch, which results in a 40% capacity increase. The drives will also use 23% less power because of the reduction of friction on the spindle. HGST said the new seven-platter helium drives will weigh 29% less per terabyte of capacity that today's five-platter drives. In other words, a seven-platter helium disk will weigh 690 grams, the same as today's five-platter drives."
Hard drive heads ride on a cusion of air (or in this case, a gas of some kind) so that they don't crash against the drive.
Why a gas? Why not float it using an electromagnet instead?
Yes yes, you have to watch out for that non explosive helium.
These disks are great except when you replay audio files the vocalists sound like munchkins.
Proverbs 21:19
*facepalm*
*hands over nerd card*
There's no place like
Argon walks into a bar. An alarm goes off and the bartender yells "Hey, we don't serve your kind here!" Argon, of course, didn't react.
Sure they weigh less, because they are filled with helium. But when the servers start lifting off the ground and floating off, they might have to rethink this idea.
Reduced friction and reduced turbulence might enable higher seek times.
By higher I meant better, which in the case of seek times is of course lower.
Perhaps they sealed the drives with more helium.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I'm pretty sure the correct response was "WOOSH"
"Not only that, but after the helium migrates through the pores in the metal housing, the heads will crash! Physically programmed disk death!"
Well, it's still better than their past efforts. The hydrogen-filled drives worked just great, until they got to New Jersey. Then they exploded.
Technically, it's "woosh" in lower case, because the joke was riding on a thin cushion of air, and therefore not making much noise.
With these new helium filled drives, the "whoosh" would be in a high-pitched, squeaky voice.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Funnies aside, not a good idea. High purity hydrogen makes many metal alloys brittle. Helium works so well because it's ideal gas that doesn't chemically react with almost anything.
Then how about Argon, Krypton, or Neon?
Nope. It doesn't react with any of those either.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
If I was taken to New Jersey I would explode too.
Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
It's lower case, but "weeeesh". They're using helium, now. Didn't you read the article?
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.