This is a tricky one i think!
So if you fill a memory/ flash card full of pictures. Does it weigh more than if it was empty?
I know it will be absolutely tiny amounts.
2007-05-31 02:40:14 · 15 answers · asked by apresnab 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Add-ons
It is measureable. As a nano-technologist and lecturer at Caledonian University, this is a question I am frequently asked 'for a laugh' by undergraduates. Memory cards work on the EPROM principle and as such 'lose' or 'gain' connections as they are programmed by adding photographs, files etc. In some cases these connection can cause a microscopic addition in molecular weight and in some cases they can cause a decrease. So the answer is YES, but the weight can be positive AND negative.
2007-05-31 02:56:29 · answer #1 · answered by bawbag321 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is one of the most intriguing technical questions I have ever seen on here. Excellent. Never thought about this. I am guessing that the information may actually have weight. A flash drive works by using a bit of energy to change the electronic state of a bit of memory. I suppose the mass of the extra electrons (I think that is how it is done) to change the bit from a 0 to a 1 may change the weight of the drive if you could measure it. Electrons do have some minute mass to them. Congratulations on an excellent question!!!
2007-05-31 02:52:13 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No the weight doesn't change.
The way memory works is like this: Inside your memory card there are millions upon millions of teeny tiny switches. Computers speak in a series of 1's and 0's: Every bit of data that is ever on a computer is coded as a string of 1's and 0's: It is called binary code.
So back to the tiny switches: Your computer uses the switches to store data by switching them on and off in a pattern, meaning that if the computer wants a 1 then it turns the switch on, and if it wants a 0 it turns the switch off. Then when the computer needs to read the data, it just looks at the patterns of off-and-on switches and translates it back into 0's and 1's.
So anyway, because no switches are added or taken away, the physical weight of your memory stays the same.
2007-05-31 02:45:31 · answer #3 · answered by Chip 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No. Electronic memory is binary, based on units of ones and zeroes, coded to a meaningful pattern. So switching a data bit from a one to a zero or vice versa does not change the mass or weight. When the card is "full", it only means there is no more space of un-patterned data bits to arrange into a digital file. But you asked a good question!
2007-05-31 02:47:47 · answer #4 · answered by dig4words 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Files are stored on a memory chip (or hard drive) as a series of electrical charges, either positive or negative. Whether there is a file stored on the chip, every spot on it will have either a positive or a negative charge. They will be random, and not mean anything...but they will be there. When you save a file, all it does is "unrandomize" the charges (I think I just invented a new word - LOL). So there would be not difference in weight between a memory stick that is full of pictures and one that is full of random charges.
2007-05-31 02:46:34 · answer #5 · answered by dewcoons 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes, that information is in the form of electrons.
1MB = 1,000,000 Bytes and 1Byte = 8 bits so 1MB = about 8,000,000 bits
Each bit is either a 0 or a 1, if it is a 0, there will be an empty slot inside the flash drive, if it is a 1, there will be an electron in that slot. so adding information means you actually add electrons, so it would weigh more, but as you mentioned, it is so small it is insignificant
2007-05-31 02:45:56 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Only if you count the dust.
The electrical charge you are talking about...ie, the photos, already exists on the card. What the act of installing info onto the card does, is simply move electrons around.
2007-05-31 02:47:25 · answer #7 · answered by jcurrieii 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Excellent question , i think no because the circuits that carry information would already hold an electric charge before the info was put in , so in theory the electric charge would just be rearranged to mean something ?
2007-05-31 02:46:33 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Technically, I think it would weigh more, but only by the weight of some electrons. I think you touching it and leaving oils from your skin would affect the weight more than the data.
2007-05-31 02:42:54 · answer #9 · answered by Colin K 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nope, none whatsoever as the changes in the charges are just movements not additional charge, also electrons really do not have weight.
2007-05-31 02:43:39 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋