Did You Know?
. . . that nickel is essential for accurate, efficient data storage? It's a Natural Nickel Fact
 |
 |
Did You Know?
Nickel Magazine, November, 2005 -- If you were to look at the surface of your CDs and DVDs
under a microscope, you would see billions of tiny pits that are just a few micrometres across. This is how
digital data is stored.
To manufacture millions of identical polycarbonate discs containing your favourite music or movies requires a
miracle of modern technology. To perform this miracle, a physical mold, or stamper is needed.
A typical injection molding machine can churn out one finished CD or DVD, faithfully replicating minute
surface details, every four seconds.
This means the stampers must be made of a material that can withstand the mechanical stresses and strains of
this repetitive, high-speed manufacturing process.
That material is nickel. Its unique properties allow excellent pit definition and therefore better
reproduction of original data. Nickel is added to the surface of molds in a process called
electroforming.
 Following, is a link to a technical paper published by the Nickel Institute, that provides in-depth
information on the role of nickel in data storage: |
