Bernoulli Box
More info
- Creator
- Iomega
- Released
- 1982
- Type
- Removable storage
- Capacity
- 10–230 MB
Iomega's 1982 cartridge storage where a flexible disk was pulled toward the head by the Bernoulli effect — crash-resistant, unlike a rigid hard drive.
A flexible plastic disk spun fast right next to a fixed head. The airflow between them dropped the pressure (Bernoulli's principle) and drew the disk toward the head to a carefully balanced microscopic gap. If the power cut out or a dust speck intruded, the disk flexed away from the head instead of slamming into it — where an ordinary hard disk would suffer a head crash, the Bernoulli disk simply backed off.
Cartridges grew from 10 MB to 230 MB. The drives were bulky and expensive and aimed at professionals, but the principle lived on and gave Iomega the experience that later flowed into Zip.