2# Disc Rot under a Microscope

02.12.2024

soooo...

I've recently had a particular interest in how CDs store data, particularly how that data gets physically eradicated from the surface of the discs. I don't exactly know why this fascinates me...

But first: What is disc rot? Why does a disc rot? Why does it matter?

In short: A CD stores data in the form of nanoscopic bumps in the surface called "pits", and spaces between those pits called "lands". They kind of look like this:

The shiny part of a store-bought audio CD is made out of aluminium, and on recordable CDs, a type of metal alloy that has it's structure changed depending on what data is written on it from a CD burner.
Unfortunately, the aluminium on the surface of the CD (espectially on recordable CDs) oxidizes, leading to tiny (or sometimes, large) holes appearing on the surface. Those holes are unredabale to the CD drive, leading to corrupted or erroneous data.

BUT ENOUGH NERD-TALK, COOL IMAGES TAIM!!1!!!

A month or so ago, I bought this 40€ toy microscope at a shop while birthday shopping for my nephew. My literal first thought when I wanted to buy it was "what would disc rotten CDs look like up close???"
and so, I present to you my professionally and competently crafted microscopy setup I made in, like, 30 minutes:

Because this thing is made mostly out of plastic, and the viewing angles weren't able to be calibrated properly, I got major headaches and eye-strain whenever I use it for long. ^-^'

But anyways, here are some really cool images I captured using my phone (the microscopy kit came with a phone holder!):

it's like you're staring into a galaxy~

Again, I don't know what is so fascinating to me about oxidizing aluminium.

good night, and remember to drink water regularly!
yaskee xoxo