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About
two weeks ago, a friend of mine had a CD literally explode in his drive.
I've never heard of such a thing and figured this was just an isolated
incident but today, I received an email from one of our readers who
unfortunately encountered the same exact problem. It seems to be a
common issue and is why we decided to write a short article on this hidden
danger. But just how powerful can it be? Can it actually cause
serious injury? Our reader James, has sent in a couple of pictures to
prove the magnitude of such an event.
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**click to enlarge** |
**click to enlarge** |
The
force was so great, that it actually blew pieces right through the housing
itself.
So
can your CDROM cause your CD to explode? You bet! But first, we
have to understand how this is possible. CD Drives are getting faster by
the day so the possibility of this actually happening to you is quite high.
For example, a 52x CDROM can have a spindle rotational speed in excess of
10,500RPM's. At this speed, any defects or cracks on the CD itself can
cause it to shatter into pieces. Sure, the pictures James provided show
just how dangerous this can be, but I decided to put this to the test by
duplicating this scenario. I took out a case modders most trusty tool, a
high speed dremel and put on some safety glasses. I put on a CD that appeared to have no imperfections
on the dremel itself. I ran it at 15,000RPM's and gently dropped
another CD on it. It sent the CD flying across the room but it did not
shatter it. Next, I found a CD that had a small imperfection
(scratch) on it. I then attempted to gently drop a CD on it again.
The results were quite shocking! I have provided a video to show you
just how dangerous this can be.
**click to play**
If a CD is capable of exploding at this
velocity, the pieces would travel at a similar rate of speed.
Considering that these pieces would be jagged and quite sharp, they could
possibly cause some serious injury. This all leads to some concern and
one important question...Should these high-speed devices come with a warning
label? We think so!
Luckily for James, nobody was hurt and Optorite
will be replacing his drive.
Have questions or comments?
Discuss them
here!
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