Asked by: Dakota Hicham
technology and computing data storage and warehousing

How are magnets used in laptops?

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The magnets in a computer/laptop create anelectrical current powering up the laptop/computer. Somemagnets are capable of messing up a computer hard drive.This is because laptops use hard drives which store memoryand the hard drive is made of metal which magnets areattracted to.


Also asked, can you put a magnet on a laptop?

The answer is almost certainly “no”.Technically it's possible to damage a laptop's hard drivewith a magnet, but it would take a very powerfulmagnet to do the job. There are other magnetsthat you can use to guarantee the destruction of yourlaptop, if that's your aspiration.

Additionally, can magnets affect computers? Magnets have a bit of a bad reputation when itcomes to computers. Many of us have heard that magnetscan wipe our hard drives, wreak havoc on our computermonitors, or that magnets distort the flow of electronsthrough cables. Stick a cheap magnet to a floppy drive andwhatever information was stored would be gone.

Correspondingly, how are magnets used in a computer?

Using magnets Magnets are used to store data incomputers, and are important in scanning machines calledMRIs (magnetic resonance imagers), which doctors use to lookinside people's bodies. The tiny magnetic regions on acomputer hard disk are only 200nm (200 billionths of ameter) wide.

What are 10 uses of magnets?

10 Uses for Magnets

  • Use magnets to:
  • Locate metal studs in a wall.
  • Seal off air-conditioning vents to improve home heating byplacing vinyl-coated sheets over the steel register faces.
  • Hang Polaroids of projects-in-process on the lip of a metalshelf above the workbench.
  • Collect nails from a porch repair job that have fallen in thegrass.

Related Question Answers

Dumitrache Pemberton

Professional

Can magnets hurt my laptop?

While you can damage hard-drives withmagnets, it takes a very, very powerful magnetto do any damage. As this article explains, anymagnet that your brother may be playing withwill not be large enough to do any damage: Itwill take a very, very powerful magnet toaffect the data inside the hard diskdrive.

Corrine Shakhovsky

Professional

Can a magnet erase a hard drive?

Simply formatting a hard drive will notcompletely destroy it. To be sure that your data has been erasedproperly, you can destroy your hard drive with amagnet. By compromising the magnetic platter with a strongmagnet, you can destroy the data stored on theplatter.

Jacquline Schrodersecker

Professional

Can magnets affect your phone?

The short answer is, if the magnet is bigenough and strong enough it could damage your device, andnot just by dropping the magnet on it! However, modernsmartphones use LCD screens which are not generally susceptible tomagnets, hurrah!

Avetik Pecada

Explainer

Do magnets affect fridge?

Magnets can be affected by electricity, andmagnets can also interfere with electronic devices. But asstated above: No, it is not bad to put magnets on thefridge. The magnets that are made for this purposedon't have the force and power to damage your fridgeor to have any effect on its functions.

Ihab Minazuri

Explainer

Can magnets damage flash drives?

Myth #2: Magnets can damage or erase USBDrives.
USB drives cannot be harmed or altered bymagnetic fields. The drives are not built from magneticmaterials. So magnets pose no danger to any flashmemory including SSDs, SD cards, and external harddrives—even traditional hard drives areimmune.

Adrista Krons

Explainer

How do you destroy a hard drive?

When disposing of an old PC, there is really only oneway to securely erase the information on the hard drive: Youmust destroy the magnetic platter inside. Use a T7screwdriver to remove as many screws as you can access. You'llprobably be able to remove the main circuit board from theenclosure.

Luke Book

Pundit

Why does a magnet ruin a computer?

Theory of Magnetic Destruction
The theory behind magnetic destruction of hard drivesis that as a magnet comes close to the platters of a harddrive, damage occurs. The idea is that the magnet disruptsthe state of the magnetic particles on the platters, thus"scrambling" the data and rendering itirretrievable.

Rustam Gaastra

Pundit

Do magnets affect electronics?

It's actually fairly difficult for anything other than aremarkably strong magnet to mess up electronics - youcan screw with data on magnetically stored medium (RAM, by the way,is electrically stored, and shouldn't be affected by yourgarden-variety magnetic field).

Romarey Xueref

Pundit

What are 5 uses of magnets?

Common uses of magnets include the compass,vending machines, refrigerator magnets and electricmotors.

Nohayla Gilsanz

Pundit

What everyday objects are magnetic?

Household Objects That Use Magnets
  • Home Audio Speakers. The speakers in your stereo containmagnets.
  • Motorized Household Appliances. Your vacuum cleaner has anelectric motor that runs by magnetism.
  • Cabinet Door Latch. The doors to many medicine cabinets have amagnetic latch.
  • Blocks, Trains and Other Toys.
  • Debit and Credit Cards.

Neeraj Schaperjahn

Pundit

Who discovered magnet?

The first magnets were not invented, butrather were found from a naturally occurring mineral calledmagnetite. Traditionally, the ancient Greeks were the discoverersof magnetite. There is a story about a shepherd named Magnes whoseshoe nails stuck to a rock containing magnetite.

Jamaal Zaborsk

Teacher

Why are magnets so important?

Magnets are important because of theirproperties. A particle moving in a magnetic field feels a forceproportional to his speed, and to the field, so you can usea magnet that produce a field in a certain way and shape, inorder to catch a particle in motion.

Mehmood Scognamiglio

Teacher

What are the different types of magnets?

The three types of magnets are temporary,permanent, and electromagnets. Magnets are categorized bytheir source of magnetism. Temporary magnets becomemagnetized in the presence of a magnetic field.

Marien Zamoro

Teacher

What can we do with magnets?

Here are seventeen of our favorite magnet tricks, projectsand demos.
  • Extract batteries from stubborn holders.
  • Make a homopolar motor.
  • Make LED Throwies.
  • Play with the coolest toy ever: 512 1/8″ cubemagnets.
  • Experiment with self assembly.
  • Make almost anything (ferromagnetic) into a building set.
  • Make a Curie motor.

Maryna Herfort

Teacher

How can you make a magnet?

Magnets are made by exposing ferromagnetic metals likeiron and nickel to magnetic fields. When these metals areheated to a certain temperature, they become permanentlymagnetized.

Method 2 Making an Electromagnet
  1. Gather supplies.
  2. Strip the ends of the wire.
  3. Wrap the nail.
  4. Connect the battery.
  5. Use the magnet.

Carminia Limonchi

Reviewer

What are permanent magnets made of?

Permanent magnets are made from "hard"ferromagnetic materials such as alnico and ferrite that aresubjected to special processing in a strong magnetic field duringmanufacture to align their internal microcrystalline structure,making them very hard to demagnetize.

Elizabeta Mar'In

Reviewer

Which is an electromagnetic device?

Examples of electromagnetic devices includedoorbells and any devices that have electric motors, such aselectric fans. The electromagnet in a doorbell attracts theclapper, which hits the bell and makes it ring. An electric motoris a device that uses an electromagnet to changeelectrical energy to kinetic energy.

Ivailo Juntgen

Reviewer

Do magnets affect credit cards?

Exposure to magnets can render your card'selectronic data unreadable by some machines. Magnetic dangers forcredit cards lurk far and wide -- in stores, hospitals andhomes. Both the strength of a magnet and the amount ofexposure to the magnetic force affect the strip on thecard.

Izei Atlasov

Reviewer

Do magnets affect cell phone batteries?

Can a Magnet Drain a CellphoneBattery? It is certainly possible for a strong magnet ora rapidly fluctuating magnetic field to interfere with certaincomponents of a cellphone, causing it to drain power faster.However, a small magnet such as a magnetic clasp on acellphone case is largely harmless.