Science Fair Experiments that get good grades – Experiment #15 - How computers store data

Have you ever thought about science fair experiments involving magnets? How about recording digital data using a magnet? Sounds cool, doesn’t it? In this project, I’m going to explain how to figure out the maximum amount of space for recording digital information using magnets. You will learn how information gets digitized, and then how it is stored away magnetically. At the end of the project, you will understand how much information is available to be recorded on magnetic storage materials.

 As far as difficulty level in science fair experiments, this project is average. There are some more difficult sections. It should only take you a few days and the cost of the materials you need is pretty small.  

Introduction

Disk drives with magnets are used for storing and retrieving information. Think about MP3 players, for example. Some other systems you might not know about that store and retrieve information are bank systems, and GPS (global positioning systems), and cars. 

In order to store things and information like words, movies or even music, the data has to be translated into a language or a format that can be then saved onto different storage devices. These storage devices are magnetic disk drives. The translation of this information is known as digitization, meaning that data is converted to a language of numbers. The smallest informational unit is a bit, labeled as a 1 or a 0. When you string together a bunch of bits, you make larger numbers. This creates a byte, which is a series of 8 different bits. ASCII is the standard digitized code for letters, numbers, or other symbols. Each character is given a specific code. 

In this experiment, you will be digitizing a small portion of text using the digital ASCII code. Then, using bar magnets, you will express individual bits of this digitized text. 

Science fair experiments always require you to become acquainted with certain terms and concepts. Before you begin the project, you should know the following: magnets and bar magnets, bytes and bits as well as ASCII. 

By the way, getting a free copy of Easy Steps to Award-Winning Science Fair Projects will help you through your own project.

What you will need for this experiment:

 •    a print of the 26 letters in both ASCII code as well as  binary code

•    plastic or glass tray that has square or rectangular components

•    about four dozen bar magnets in one-inch size

•    pencil and paper

•    ruler

•    a big horseshoe shaped magnet

Steps for the Experimental Procedure:

1.    First, you will need to come up with a word to digitize. Try picking the name of one of your favorite songs, your favorite book, or favorite thing to say.

2.    You will need to create a graphic organizer to translate the word or phrase you chose into the digital binary ASCII code. Each letter gets its own column, with the row beneath holding the binary code.

3.    Every bit of your coded word will get its own bar magnet to represent it. For the sake of this experiment, we’ll state that a magnet whose North pole is facing toward the right is going to be a 1, and one with the North pole pointing toward the left is going to be a 0. Put one of the magnets into each one of the compartments on the tray and then arrange them according to your phrase’s binary code, arranging them according to the binary code.

4.    Being very gentle, tap on the tray of organized magnets. Notice what happened to your arrangement.  Some of your magnets should be attracted or even repelled by the others. Science fair experiments should always include curiosity, so don’t be afraid to use your imagination!

5.    For the following section, you will use the binary code for an individual letter. So choose only one letter out of the word or phrase that you chose.

6.    Draw eight squares on paper. They should be roughly the same in size as your plastic tray’s compartments. Just as you did before, arrange your magnets to represent your binary code on your paper squares.

7.    How do the magnets act when there is not a plastic wall to separate them? Try making smaller and larger squares and record how the magnets interact with each other.

8.    Now, take your horseshoe magnet. Arrange the magnets once again on your paper to represent your letter. Hold the horseshoe magnet about a foot from your paper, using your ruler to measure the distance, passing it over the top of the magnets. What happened to your bar magnets?  Did they move? Try lowering your horseshoe magnet and see what happens. What if you make it higher? Record the differences. 

To help you with your own project, take a look at some of the links next to this article. Good luck!