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Xray OK for HDD?


pubstud

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I'm flying this Friday and will be taking a couple of external HDDs in my carry on bag, just wondering if it's completely safe as they'll have to pass through the Xray scanners? I guess so because I've had my notebook pass through several times with no ill effects, but thought it better to be 100% certain. I've got years worth of MP3 files on those HDDs and would hate to have any files corrupted or erased.

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All our hard drives are getting continually bombarded by cosmic rays with no ill effects. No problems with x-rays.

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Been through countless x-rays with an external HDD over the last four years - no problems.

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Thanks guys, thats what I thought but it's always better to check, I hate to do things and then find out later that I shouldn't have done this or that.

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This is an excellent question but very difficult to provide a "meaningful" and easy to understand answer.

 

Basically they operate on completely different principles.

 

An Xray is basically a "light frequency" (ray) that is aimed (sends) "particles" through matter (something physical) and those that bounce off indicate the more solid shapes (denser particles) of the object.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_generator

 

Whereas HDD operate via "magnetic recording", basically the same as those holding your fridge door shut (consider this a single DATA point of 1 or 0). It takes another "magnet" to get close before you have concerns about DATA corruption. Without trying to over simplify this but you need to have a stronger "magnetic" force right next to that fridge door before it will open and lose it's seal (DATA corruption). Sound, air, heat and even movement can pass "through" this magnetic "bond" without causing any problems, "light" (the X-ray) is the same.

 

I hope this might ease your concerns and consider that every day thousands of people fly through airports with laptops without a problem.

Edited by Newguy1967
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An Xray is basically a "light frequency" (ray) that is aimed (sends) "particles" through matter (something physical) and those that bounce off indicate the more solid shapes (denser particles) of the object.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_generator

 

Technically it is electromagnetic radiation. The electromagnetic radiation spectrum ranges from radio waves through to gamma rays. A very small part is what we perceive as light. The 'particles' that you talk about are photons and they have both particle and wave properties.

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Technically it is electromagnetic radiation. The electromagnetic radiation spectrum ranges from radio waves through to gamma rays. A very small part is what we perceive as light. The 'particles' that you talk about are photons and they have both particle and wave properties.

 

Indeed, indeed (and even more than that if you really must) but it is all about "relative distance" and "liability potential" they aren't about to suffer massive liable suits.

Edited by Newguy1967
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