Defining Magnetic and Optical Storage

We hear of semiconductor memory a lot of times. So what is this semiconductor memory? Let’s dive right into it.

 

So semiconductor memory is a device that has the prime task to store data. Just like the part of our brain that stores data. The only difference semiconductor memory stores electronic data. Now two electronic storage mediums are usually utilized. One is magnetic, and the other one is optical.

Magnetic Storage:

As the name sounds, magnetic storage stores data in magnetic form. Magnetic storage uses different patterns of magnetization in a magnetizable material to store data. As this data relies highly on the material's magnetic properties, it is affected by the magnetic field. It has a very high storage capacity. Unlike optical storage, it does not use any laser to read or write operations. Examples of magnetic storage are hard disk, floppy disks. Even the magnetic tape uses the magnetic storage data type.

Optical Storage:

Optical storage stores data optically, meaning it uses a laser to write or read operations. You might have notices something similar when you put your DVD of the latest movie or album in the DVD player. You must have noticed that laser-like glow. It is because the laser reads the contents the precious contents in the CD or DVD. Since it does not have any relation to magnetic fields, it is not affected by them. It has a lot less storage than a hard disk, a considerable drawback. On the bright side, the data accessing is high compared to a floppy disk. Some common examples are CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, and DVD.

Well, these are the basic terms related to semiconductor memory. I hope you like it, stay tuned for more minimalistic and informative content.
Difference between Magnetic Disk and Optical Disk

S.NO.	MAGNETIC DISK	OPTICAL DISK
1	Media type used is Multiple fixed disk	Media type used is Single removable disk
2	Intermediate signal to noise ratio	Excellent signal to noise ratio
3	The sample rate is Low	The sample rate is High
4	Implementation where data is randomly accessed.	Implemented in streaming files.
5	Only one disk can be used at a time	Mass replication is possible
6	Tracks in the magnetic disk are generally circular	In optical disk, the tracks are constructed spirally.
7	The data in the magnetic disk is randomly accessed.	In the optical disk, the data is sequentially accessed.
8	In the magnetic disk, only one disk is accessed at a time.	Optical disk allows mass-replication

Conclusion

The magnetic disk works on electromagnetic technology while optical disk functions by using optical means (laser light). Although, the speed of the magnetic disk is higher than that of the optical disk.

 - Swapnil Bonde