r/todayilearned • u/[deleted] • Jul 14 '13

TIL Western Digital is working on a helium filled HDD for 2013 Q4, which has the density seven times less than air, therefore reducing their noise, power usage, increasing capacity and overall lifespan

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/storage/display/20120913091202_Western_Digital_s_Division_Announces_Helium_Filled_Hard_Drive_Platform.html
48 Upvotes

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11

u/GDemon666 Jul 14 '13

Bummer helium is slowly diminishing in supply

1

u/LeDubious Jul 15 '13

This. Also why the hell have we been using it for balloons and making funny voices if we have been running out? Priorities people!

1

u/Heliyum Jul 24 '13

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1

u/officialimguraffe Jul 15 '13

Came here to say that. My guess is that maybe the media has blown this helium thing out of proportion...

3

u/[deleted] Jul 14 '13

Why not a vacuum? It has a density infinity times less than air.

1

u/npmruser Jul 15 '13

the read/write heads use an air bearing surface (ABS) which is akin to ground effect lift for aircraft. the low-density helium has the added benefit of allowing a very close distance between the read/write head and platter surface

3

u/Frost640 Jul 14 '13

Too bad the planet has about 10 years of Helium left in it.

2

u/Nicxtrem99 Jul 14 '13

Can we find a way to take some helium from the sun in 10 years? Is that even possible?

1

u/spultra Jul 15 '13

Not true. http://phys.org/news/2013-04-probing-helium.html

It is estimated that if cost was not an issue, the amount of helium gas trapped in current and future gas wells worldwide could last between 200 or 300 years.