Does data have weight ?

Nope. As I have it, it's onlt the magnetic polarization of areas on the disk that gets changed. So basically 'what is there' are only reconfigured.
 
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Well, let us see.
It may register as being "heavier" if all the aligned magnetic bits "point" the same way, and "pull" the platters towards a metallic object.
 
Well, depends on what the HDD is filled with.

A Drive full on Illegal Movies certainly feels heavier than an Emtpy Drive when running away from a Police Car.
 
Moederloos said:
Well, let us see.
It may register as being "heavier" if all the aligned magnetic bits "point" the same way, and "pull" the platters towards a metallic object.
Click to expand...

Just watch out for updrafts in your room that might cause to disk to be blown away.
 
"I've got 500GB of albanian noseflute gimp porn!"
"Woah, that's some heavy sheet there man!"
 
well... you could argue that since electrons are used to create a changed in the hard drive's magnetic polarity, and electrons have weight to them, then yes, i think you do get a heavier hard drive, in that manner, however, the difference in weight would be expressed by thousandth's of a kilo gram, so the weight difference would be very very very small...
 
daveza said:
Agreed it would be minimal - I suppose the best way to prove it is to use a scale that could measure such a small difference.
Click to expand...

an atomic scale, BUT since we:
A) can't afford one
and
B) don't have any means of obtaining one,

we can simply work it out. Now I don't feel like working it out though :p

but my educated guess is on the fact that data does have weight, and i say that because electrons all have weight and what creates magnetic fields are electrons.

:D
 
daveza said:
Just that.

If i have an empty 250 gig drive and a full 250 Gig drive, does one weigh more than the other ?
Click to expand...

Same. You're not physically adding or removing any matter from the HD platters, you're just rearranging the charges on the platters to allow them
to store binary data.

Weight = Mass x 9.8 (earth's gravity co-efficient = g)
 
N00bs.

Called the Law of Conservation of Matter and Energy.

It states that matter cannot be created nor destroyed, but merely transitioned from one state to another.

The weight of the drive won't change (as a system on its own). Over a period of time, with the depositing of EXTERNAL matter on to the drive, it may become "heavier" - dust, etc.

The data on the drive only exists through magnetic manipulation of various parts. Take a big magnet and put it near the drive - and the data will no longer "be there"...

Your brain plays funny tricks on you...

:)
 
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