The Differences Between Plastic Disks and Compact Discs

張貼日期：Nov 21, 2010 5:8:16 AM

The Differences Between Plastic Disks and Compact Discs

Fred

      When I was little, my father had many plastic disks. At that time, they were very popular and high-class musical materials. But now, they have been thrown away for a long time because they are out-of-date and unable to be used. And owing to the technological progress, Compact Discs, the present state-of-the-art sound products, have the same shapes and use as plastic disks, but they are still different and the differences make Compact discs have substituted the plastic disks.

       The first difference between the two kinds of disks is about their volumes. In general, the diameter of a plastic disk is about thirteen inches, but the diameter of a Compact Disc is only four and a half inches. Besides, the later is lighter than the former, so it is very convenient to carry Compact Discs and if you have a Discman, you can enjoy music anytime and anywhere. But if you use plastic disks, you must have a heavy record player and it is impossible to carry them with you. So Compact Discs are more popular than plastic disks.

  Then, when we listen to the music by a plastic disk, the stylus of the player has to directly touch the disk. So the disk will be rubbed by the stylus more than once and the wear will shorten the valid time of the disk. Therefore, most plastic disks cannot be reserved for long. But the performance of a Compact Disc is produced by the laser-optical scanning connected with the player. So there is no object scratching the surface of the Disc and it will not be worn. Therefore, a Compact Disc can be reserved forever if we can suitably use and preserve it.

  The third difference between them is about their performances. Because there was not stereophonic technology before, plastic disks were monophonic. And when we use a record player and plastic disks, the stylus connecting with the disk will make much noise. But nothing in the Compact Disc player will touch the surface of a Disc, so naturally, no noise will be produced and Compact Discs certainly can give us much better musical enjoyment.

  Owing to these differences between the two kinds of disks, people have abandoned plastic disks and use the other one. So now we can hardly find any plastic disk in stores. Compact Discs give us much better enjoyment, but sometimes, they bring trouble, too. For instance, the high frequency of them will hurt human organs of hearing. So every time when we enjoy music by Compact Discs, the time should not be too long in order to avoid the hurt from the progressive sound reproductions.