Click here

superparamagnetism

In magnetic disk drive storage technology, the fluctuation of magnetization due to thermal agitation. When the areal density -- the number of bits that can be stored on a square inch of disk media -- of a disk medium reaches 150 gigabits per square inch, the magnetic energy holding the bits in place on the medium becomes equal to the ambient thermal energy within the disk drive itself. When this happens, the bits are no longer held in a reliable state and can "flip," scrambling the data that was previously recorded.

Because of superparamagnetism, hard drive technologies are expected to stop growing once they reach a density of 150 gigabits per square inch.



Top Terms
  • 1

    Consumerization of IT

    Consumerization of IT is a phrase used to describe the cycle of information technology (IT) emerging in the consumer market then spreading to...

    Read more »

  • 2

    ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning

    Short for enterprise resource planning, ERP is business management software that allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications...

    Read more »

  • Click Here!

Connect with Webopedia

Did You Know? Archive »

  • Quick Reference Archive »