A hard drive crash once caught me off guard at high altitude.
Admittedly less of a concern these days, but back in the era of spinning disks I thought it would be fun to take my netbook up loaded with approach plates.
Turns out yes, the read write head is supported by a thin cushion of air. As the air becomes less dense so does the cushion until - yup you guessed it - head crash.
It’s well documented now of course but I understand it also used to be a problem in Tibet and Chile.
Admittedly less of a concern these days, but back in the era of spinning disks I thought it would be fun to take my netbook up loaded with approach plates.
Turns out yes, the read write head is supported by a thin cushion of air. As the air becomes less dense so does the cushion until - yup you guessed it - head crash.
It’s well documented now of course but I understand it also used to be a problem in Tibet and Chile.