The Physics of CDs and DVDs :: Media Entertainment Movies Technology Essays

The Physics of CDs and DVDs Everywhere you look now days, you see or interact with CDs or DVDs; whether it is in the car, at work, or at home for pleasure, you deal with these modern marvels. Whatever the use, CD has become a reliable medium in which to distribute information, in a reliable way. The cost of a CD is very inexpensive, making it a popular choice by companies trying to advertise, or teach you about something. American On Line (AOL) is one example of companies who have chose this reliable source for communication. CD is the abbreviation for compact disk; DVD is the abbreviation for digital video disk or digital versatile disk. The difference between the two is the CD is audio, and the DVD is audio and visual. The objective of this paper is to help you to understand the physics surrounding the CD and DVD. The main focus of this paper is to inform the reader of all the things that take place when you watch a movie on a DVD player, starting with the CD itself. The laser reads the CD and converts i t to the final product of what we see and hear. Most CDs are made from polycarbonate plastic. This polycarbonate is a tough material that helps to prevent scratching. Scratching of a CD causes the laser, which reads the spiral data, to jump off track, allowing the CD to skip around and to distort whatever you are watching or listening to. According to How Things Work, A CD is a fairly simple piece of plastic, about four one-hundredths (4/100) of an inch (1.2 mm) thick. Most of a CD consists of an injection-molded piece of clear polycarbonate plastic. During manufacturing, this plastic is impressed with microscopic bumps arranged as a single, continuous, extremely long spiral track of data. Once the clear piece of polycarbonate is formed, a thin, reflective aluminum layer is sputtered onto the disc, covering the bumps. Then a thin acrylic layer is sprayed over the aluminum to protect it. (Brian 1) After that, you have a final product called a CD. Often, you will hear about bumps on a CD. These bumps are what the laser reads. They are also sometimes referred to as pits. Bumps and pits are the same thing; it just depends on what side of the CD you are looking at. The Physics of CDs and DVDs :: Media Entertainment Movies Technology Essays The Physics of CDs and DVDs Everywhere you look now days, you see or interact with CDs or DVDs; whether it is in the car, at work, or at home for pleasure, you deal with these modern marvels. Whatever the use, CD has become a reliable medium in which to distribute information, in a reliable way. The cost of a CD is very inexpensive, making it a popular choice by companies trying to advertise, or teach you about something. American On Line (AOL) is one example of companies who have chose this reliable source for communication. CD is the abbreviation for compact disk; DVD is the abbreviation for digital video disk or digital versatile disk. The difference between the two is the CD is audio, and the DVD is audio and visual. The objective of this paper is to help you to understand the physics surrounding the CD and DVD. The main focus of this paper is to inform the reader of all the things that take place when you watch a movie on a DVD player, starting with the CD itself. The laser reads the CD and converts i t to the final product of what we see and hear. Most CDs are made from polycarbonate plastic. This polycarbonate is a tough material that helps to prevent scratching. Scratching of a CD causes the laser, which reads the spiral data, to jump off track, allowing the CD to skip around and to distort whatever you are watching or listening to. According to How Things Work, A CD is a fairly simple piece of plastic, about four one-hundredths (4/100) of an inch (1.2 mm) thick. Most of a CD consists of an injection-molded piece of clear polycarbonate plastic. During manufacturing, this plastic is impressed with microscopic bumps arranged as a single, continuous, extremely long spiral track of data. Once the clear piece of polycarbonate is formed, a thin, reflective aluminum layer is sputtered onto the disc, covering the bumps. Then a thin acrylic layer is sprayed over the aluminum to protect it. (Brian 1) After that, you have a final product called a CD. Often, you will hear about bumps on a CD. These bumps are what the laser reads. They are also sometimes referred to as pits. Bumps and pits are the same thing; it just depends on what side of the CD you are looking at.