Underneath the board are the connections for the motor that spins the platters, as well as a highly-filtered vent hole that lets internal and external air pressures equalize:
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Removing the cover from the drive reveals an extremely simple but very precise interior:
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In this picture you can see:
- The platters - These typically spin at 3,600 or 7,200 rpm when the drive is operating. These platters are manufactured to amazing tolerances and are mirror-smooth (as you can see in this interesting self-portrait of the author... no easy way to avoid that!).
- The arm - This holds the read/write heads and is controlled by the mechanism in the upper-left corner. The arm is able to move the heads from the hub to the edge of the drive. The arm and its movement mechanism are extremely light and fast. The arm on a typical hard-disk drive can move from hub to edge and back up to 50 times per second -- it is an amazing thing to watch!
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