The floppy disc was invented by IBM as a storage device and they were made available in the market in 1971. The main aim of this invention was to save files in a portable storage device so that it can be viewed and used on multiple computers. The initial floppy disk was 8 inches in diameter. However today, floppy disks are obsolete and have been replaced by the more efficient thumb drive or the USB memory stick and the CD and DVDs in the market.
A floppy disk could store up to 1.44MB of data. They come in two sizes; the 5.25” and the 3.5” floppy. The floppy drive writes and reads the data on the floppy disk. A floppy disk comprises a disk of flexible, thin medium of storage that is magnetic in nature and is sealed in a rectangular or square plastic carrier which is lined up with fabric that protects it from dust, scratches, finger prints and other risks.
There is a coating of magnetic oxide on the blank floppy disk. Magnetized tracks broken into equal sectors are found on these diskettes. The track looks like concentric circles and there are spaces between the tracks where there is no data. The floppy has a small diskette which rotates with the help of a small motor and a second motor moves the magnetic head used for reading and writing.
