Does data weigh anything?

[bledd]

wth

 

[NiCkNaMe]

thats like saying 10 grapes weigh more than 5 apples in some senses....aslong as the grapes are weighed in an iron basket and the apples in a morrisons bag.

you think im being silly

But data depends on a medium, grapes and baskets are not mutually exclusive but i am being a bit silly now i guess.

 

[richb_83]

lol wtf

 

[da_mic_1530]

never really thought about it, would have said no , but wouldn't have been able to give a techy answer

 

[bledd]

but wouldn't have been able to give a techy answer

i'll give one then..

"no, you idiot"

 

[ConTRo13R]

^LOL^

rings true for most techies i know...when the doors closed that is lol

 

[D D Danneh]

10 green grapes weigh the same as 10 red grapes. That's the same as how it is with data.

 

[Bucket]

Google should have been first

 

[Solari]

10 green grapes weigh the same as 10 red grapes. That's the same as how it is with data.

Are these seedless grapes?

 

[RobH]

Wasn't there an April Fool's article on the Reg or somewhere based around this theory?

I think there was one about a full iPod weighing more than an empty one, I remember reading that somewhere.

 

[Monkey Puzzle]

Does the lightswitch on your wall get heavier when you switch it on?

Yep - sweat deposited on it when pressed, which evaporates between pressing the switch.

 

[VFR_KID]

daft

 

[FrostedNipple]

Electrons will be added or subtracted to areas of the transistors that make up the flash memory in order to set them as binary ones or zeros. Therefore, it is possible for a memory stick's weight to change depending on the data it holds. However, this will depend on the binary "pattern" of the data it holds rather than the total amount.

PK!

This works. The memory stick will have a greater mass if you fill it up with 1's. Minute mass change though x10^-19 g maybe? Whatever an electron weighs really, i think its 1.8x10^-19g i could be completely wrong though because i don't need to know any of that stuff anymore.

 

[D D Danneh]

This works. The memory stick will have a greater mass if you fill it up with 1's. Minute mass change though x10^-19 g maybe? Whatever an electron weighs really, i think its 1.8x10^-19g i could be completely wrong though because i don't need to know any of that stuff anymore.

I don't know how a transistor works, where the electrons go and all that jazz, but I do know that the actual data isn't stored by electrons, it's stored by the changing of state of the cell, so in that sense a 0 and a 1 weigh the same.

 

[Burnsy2023]

This works. The memory stick will have a greater mass if you fill it up with 1's. Minute mass change though x10^-19 g maybe? Whatever an electron weighs really, i think its 1.8x10^-19g i could be completely wrong though because i don't need to know any of that stuff anymore.

Great theory except electrons have no mass and therefore don't weigh anything. That's physics 101

Oh and as for the OP's question. No, there is no change in mass. Data is not 'added', the patterns on the disk are just changed, a binary 1 weighs no more than a 0.

 

[Bucket]

Electrons have a mass, however it isn't a physical mass as such, am I correct?

 

[Burnsy2023]

Electrons have a mass, however it isn't a physical mass as such, am I correct?

Apparently, I'm wrong, they do have mass, but it's tiny (9.109534 x 10-31kg) even compared to a proton.

 

[Burnsy2023]

Not so stupid:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cd3.htm

Surely the data on a CD will affect the weight, as the number of bumps / pits is going to affect the mass.

The question is in regard to a flash memory device though

 

[Le_Petit_Lapin]

Yeah, of course it has weight. Our fileserver has to be placed on a reinforced concrete floor.