A magneto-optic disk is a type of data storage device that combines both magnetic and optical technologies to efficiently store and retrieve information. It consists of a disk-like structure made of a thin magnetic material that is coated with a protective layer.
The technology behind a magneto-optic disk involves the use of a laser beam to heat a specific area on the disk surface, known as a domain, causing it to become magnetically inverted. This process is called Kerr effect, whereby the light interacts with the magnetic domain and the polarization of the reflected light changes accordingly.
The binary information is stored as magnetic domains, representing 1s and 0s, across the disk surface. By selectively heating different parts of the disk with the laser beam, the magnetic domains can be switched between two states, allowing for data encoding.
To read the data from a magneto-optic disk, a low-power laser beam is used to scan the surface. When the laser encounters a magnetically inverted domain, the reflected light will have a different polarization, allowing it to be detected and interpreted as a binary value.
The advantages of magneto-optic disks include their high storage capacity, fast access time, and excellent data retention, as the information is not affected by external magnetic fields. However, the technology's use has declined with the emergence of other storage mediums, such as flash drives and cloud storage, due to their smaller size, increased reliability, and ease of use.
