Re: "What if" question

T wrote:
In article <c1cd55af-e50e-4449-ac06-
86ae06f5b69a@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, bill.sloman@xxxxxxxx says...
On Jan 3, 6:49 pm, a7yvm109gf...@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
If time travel to the past were possible and I brought a PATA hard
drive with me, would the scientists and engineers of 1966 get it to
work? Assuming I told them nothing would they figure out the
principles behind it? If so, how long would it take? How would they do
it?
Modern hard disks depend on "giant magneto-resistance" in the reading
head to be able to read the magnetic field of the disk surface.

It wasn't discovered until 1988

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_magnetoresistive_effect

You'd probably need ion-beam milling to identify the different
metallic layers in the reading head that give you the giant magneto-
resistance, and that only hit my radar in the late 1980's.

At the time it would probably have been an example of the sufficiently
advanced technology that was indistinguishable from magic.

Doesn't anybody around here know their technology?

--
Bill Sloman, Nijmegen


Imagine bringing a MacBook or similar back to that year. Of course you'd have no net connection but the features would blow them away.


Until the first crash. Then the enthusiasm would quickly vanish.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
.

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