What is Inside a Flash Drive?
Flash drives are a modern computer storage medium that utilize memory cells, as opposed to the traditional magnetic substrate. These come in various sizes and are useful for mobile data applications.
Other People Are Reading
-
History
-
The first flash drives were a joint endeavor by Trek Technology and the IBM Corporation in 2000. These drives were called "ThumbDrives" upon their initial release in North America.
Size
-
Flash drives are currently available in sizes ranging from 16MB to 128GB, depending on the individual manufacturer.
-
Benefits
-
Flash drives are often times less than a couple of ounces in weight, are easily attached to a keychain and provide extremely mobile data.
Function
-
Flash drives digitally store data in a series of electrical memory cells within the drive's housing. This architecture allows for quick and easy data manipulation utilizing a USB or FireWire drive.
Time Frame
-
Due to flash drives' use of memory cells, as opposed to permanent magnetic storage, they are limited in lifetime. Over time, the electrical potential that holds the data within the cells will dissipate, and the data will become lost. The mean time between failure differs markedly between different drive manufacturers and models.
-
