Securely delete files... [going further off topic]

[Mark H. Wood]

On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 09:11:16AM -0500, Robert J. Hansen wrote:
> If anyone on the list is an EE or a physics geek looking for a good
> paper, it might be interesting to explore using the Curie Point as a
> data erasure technique.  For a lot of the exotic magnetic materials used
> in modern hard drives, the Curie Point is pretty remarkably low -- it
> might be possible to put a drive in a toaster oven, raise the
> temperature to the Curie Point, take it out, let the drive cool, and
> have the platter surfaces be randomized.

Hmmm.  You'd have to ensure that every point within the coating on
every platter reaches the critical temperature (perhaps for a minimum
amount of time?).  That sounds too uncertain when certain destruction
is required.

The binder in the coating also has some critical temperatures and
might do Interesting Things before reaching the pigment's Curie
Point.  In a sealed box, no less.  I have no idea what will happen,
but maybe you should before trying the experiment.

-- 
Mark H. Wood, Lead System Programmer   mwood at IUPUI.Edu
Typically when a software vendor says that a product is "intuitive" he
means the exact opposite.

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