What Are the Characteristics of Optical Discs? An optical disc is a type of storage media that consists of a fl at, round, portable disc made of metal, plastic, and lacquer that is written and read by a laser. Optical discs, which primarily store software, data, digital photos, movies, and music, contain microscopic pits (indentations) and lands (flat areas) in their middle layer. Optical discs commonly store items in a single track that spirals from the center of the disc to its edge. Like a hard disk, the single track is divided into evenly sized sectors.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
Correct Answer:
The characteristics of optical discs include being flat, round, portable storage devices made of metal, plastic, and lacquer. They store data in the form of microscopic pits and lands on their middle layer. Data is written and read by a laser, with the information typically stored in a single, spiraling track from the center to the edge of the disc. Optical discs divide the track into evenly sized sectors, similar to a hard disk.
Explanation:
Optical discs are a type of data storage medium widely used for storing various digital files such as software, music, movies, digital photos, and other data. The main components of an optical disc are metal, plastic, and lacquer. The lacquer serves as a protective coating, while the metal layer contains the information in the form of microscopic pits and lands. These pits are indentations in the metal, while the lands are flat, unmarked areas.
When an optical disc is written to or read, a laser beam is used to detect the changes in the surface of the disc. As the laser moves along the spiraled track, it encounters these pits and lands, and by measuring the difference in light reflection, the system can interpret the stored data. The laser’s ability to distinguish between the pits and lands allows it to “read” the data encoded on the disc.
Optical discs commonly feature a single spiral track that begins at the center and extends outward to the disc’s edge. This continuous track is divided into evenly sized segments, called sectors, similar to how a hard disk is organized. Each sector typically holds a fixed amount of data, and the laser reads these sectors sequentially as it spirals outward.
One key advantage of optical discs is their portability and the relatively large storage capacity they offer, especially when compared to older storage media like floppy disks. Examples of optical discs include CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs, with each type offering different storage capacities, from a few hundred megabytes for a CD to several terabytes for a Blu-ray disc.