Cd Degradation???

[LifeGame]

Hello people, i just saw a post where it said something about someone collecting mainly carts because of CD degradation, whats that about and how long does it take for it to happen and how does it happen?

Thank you

[Bratwurst]

It's happening right now RUN FOR THE HILLS.

[LifeGame]

I would like a more scientific answer please. But i am going for the Hills!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek 2:

[ProgrammingAce]

Plastics break down, metals oxidize, CDs/DVDs degrade... It all depends on what materials were used. The oils from your skin can etch a mark into a CD if its left there long enough (ever had a fingerprint you just can't wipe off?)

The ones that worry me the most are the Saturn games. One biggest signs of plastic breakdown is an oily residue. I've seen several saturn discs that have started to break down already. Other things to look out for are brittleness, discoloration, cloudyness, and paint chipping. Some discs will probably only last 20-30 years, others will easly go 500 without issue...

As a side note, a burned disc is far more likely to fall apart then a stamped disc. With a stamped disc, the foil is protected on both sides, on a burned disc the foil is exposed to the air and is more likely to oxidize.

[ProgrammingAce]

One other thing to note, many of the plastics used for discs are macroscopic solids but microscopic liquids. In otherwords, they look like solids but are actually still liquid.

Just the force of gravity over time will be able to warp the disc or pull some of the plastic to pool on one side.

On the other hand, 95% of your CD/DVD games will outlast you if you take care of them (keep fingerprints off of them, don't let them get scratched, etc).

[LifeGame]

Hello, now theres an answer i wanted. Thank you Ace, you deserve your name in my opinion! I am a clean-freak so everything shall outlast me. Hooray!

But what if i live 500 years, haha stupid!! :hmm:

[FABombjoy]

One other thing to note, many of the plastics used for discs are macroscopic solids but microscopic liquids. In otherwords, they look like solids but are actually still liquid.

Do you have a source for this?

[SuperShark]

One other thing to note, many of the plastics used for discs are macroscopic solids but microscopic liquids. In otherwords, they look like solids but are actually still liquid.

Do you have a source for this?

Yes, plz, tell us more???

Snap a disk in half in front of a camera and show is the liquid or somethnig plz? And then tell us how far into the futire you come from where solid disk are not solid or whatever? As for me, any disk I snap, well, Snaps and Shatters, not breaks into a few large pieces with goo coming out of them.

[SuperShark]

One other thing to note, many of the plastics used for discs are macroscopic solids but microscopic liquids. In otherwords, they look like solids but are actually still liquid.

Do you have a source for this?

Yes, plz, tell us more???

Snap a disk in half in front of a camera and show is the liquid or somethnig plz? And then tell us how far into the futire you come from where solid disk are not solid or whatever? As for me, any disk I snap, well, Snaps and Shatters, not breaks into a few large pieces with goo coming out of them.

[extrarice]

Yes, plz, tell us more???

Snap a disk in half in front of a camera and show is the liquid or somethnig plz? And then tell us how far into the futire you come from where solid disk are not solid or whatever? As for me, any disk I snap, well, Snaps and Shatters, not breaks into a few large pieces with goo coming out of them.
I imagine it's something similar to how glass warps as it ages (since it is has the same properties as he described). If you go to an old house, and measure the width of a pane of glass, more than likely it will be thicker on the bottom than the top.

[FABombjoy]

I imagine it's something similar to how glass warps as it ages (since it is has the same properties as he described). If you go to an old house, and measure the width of a pane of glass, more than likely it will be thicker on the bottom than the top.

Nope - this has been disproven. Even Roman glassware has retained it's shape after all these years.

A window being thicker at the bottom is indicative of the old processes used to produce glass. The thicker side was installed down to reduce stress.

[ProgrammingAce]

Glass is entirely a solid, while plastics can be either solid or liquid.

Take a look at plastic viscosity: http://composite.about.com/library/glossary/v/bldef-v5956.htm

Although honestly, i would expect the plastic material in a CD/DVD to break down long before it deforms. Either way, for all intents and purposes your CD/DVDs are safe.

[gcl1984]

factory cds are good to go unless the layers seperate and allow air or moisture to get in and cause oxidation.cdrs use ink ,not metal and will go bad from temperature and other factors.

[Ed Oscuro]

Glass is entirely a solid
Well, it's neither a solid nor a liquid.

More information (http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/Glass/glass.html) for people who Really Care (TM)!

Also, on degradation of CDs, here's the abstract of a talk given in 2004:

http://www.jts2004.org/english/proceedings/Carou.htm

My interpretation is that the wide range of pressing plants in service may potentially cause some batches of games to potentially fail, but for most consoles the type of media has been standardized (i.e. PSX discs) to an extent that everybody must likely have the same source of media (and who knows, that could be true of XBox games as well).

With consoles, drive failures are definitely the big thing to worry about, although emulation makes that less of a worry than it might have been.