Introduction
When you were very young, you’ve probably heard your parents saying not to stick magnets on their computers or your chromebooks. And you probably also listened to them because they were your parents. But do you know what actually happens if you stick magnets in your computers, and can magnets actually damage electronics?
How do magnets work?
Before we get to damaged computers and all that stuff, we actually need to know how magnets work. Magnets are special objects that have a magnetic field that attracts metals like iron, nickel, and cobalt. This magnetic field appears because of the motion from electric charges within the material that the magnet is trying to repel or attract.
What's the problem with magnets on computers?
Now that we know how magnets work, we can dive into what magnets actually do for your computer. The biggest risk is the hard drive, which is the part of the computer that stores information and code that keeps the computer up and running. However, the information in the hard drive is magnetic, and using a magnet on a computer could potentially mess up the information. But don’t worry — most computers have special measures to prevent this. After these special measures, your magnets will need to be stronger than ordinary magnets you’d find on Amazon.
What are the Damages?
Now, let’s talk about the long term and short term effects on your electronics if you stick a magnet onto them. First, if your device uses a hard disk drive (HDD), a strong magnet could theoretically attract all the data in your computer and could possibly erase or mess up the data on the drive. Second, old monitors and TVs that have those big boxy ones use a technology that relies on electron beams hitting a phosphorescent screen to create images. Magnetic fields can create disruption and therefore make permanent or temporary color distortions on the screens. However, most newer TVs use LCD and LED displays so magnetic fields can’t affect the color distortion.
Magnets can potentially provide disruption for the hard disk drive and mess up your computer’s programs.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while we all heard that magnets can damage our information, magnets have to be fairly strong enough to power wash all our data and code in our computers. However, that doesn’t mean we can stick magnets anywhere! It’s important to be very cautious, especially with credit cards and other small electronic devices, as they can be very sensitive to magnetic fields and consequences be making all your money gone. By understanding how magnets work and their possible side effects, we can protect our electronics and keep our information safe better (backing important information up also helps too!). That being said, next time you encounter a magnet, remember to use it wisely!