Maximum Altitude?

[Dane D.]

While reading the specs on the new Mac tower yesterday, I read a strange line. Maximum Altitude 10,000ft., what happens to computers after 10,000 ft. I tried to search for an answer but came up blank. Any thoughts on this.

 

[eva01]

if it has liquid cooling. Maybe the cooling evaporates at room temperature?

 

[JBot]

Something to do with air pressure i think.

 

[Eidorian]

It has to do with air pressure and the hard drives.

The system relies on air pressure inside the drive to support the heads at their proper flying height while the disk is in motion. A hard disk drive requires a certain range of air pressures in order to operate properly. The connection to the external environment and pressure occur through a small orifice in the enclosure, usually featuring also a carbon filter on the inside (the breather filter, see below). If the air pressure is too low, there will not be enough lift for the flying head, the head will not be at the proper height, and there is a risk of head crashes and data loss. Specially manufactured sealed and pressurized drives are needed for reliable high-altitude operation, above about 10,000 feet. This does not apply to pressurized enclosures, like an airplane pressurized cabin. Modern drives include temperature sensors and adjust their operation to the operating environment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk

Note: That OPERATING pressure. It'll survive shipping in the wild blue yonder.

 

[Dane D.]

Eidorian, Thank you.