Development of removable mass information storage through Bernoulli principle

Norton and Wright of IBM showed that the disc flutter problem could be solved by using the Bernoulli effect. In their proposed design the disc is rotated at a higher speed in close proximity to a fixed flat plate called the Bernoulli plate. This tends to create an air bearing between the disc and the plate and the floppy disc acts like a rigid plate. A slot in the Bernoulli plate allows magnetic head to access the disc. As the disc passes over the slot a pull-down force is exerted, also known as dimpling. This stabilizes the disc and keeps a constant spacing with the magnetic head. By radially extending the slot to the extremities of the floppy disc the entire area of the disc can be employed for recording. Utilizing the Bernoulli plate and introducing the head through a slot allows the opportunity to adjust the head-disc spacing for optimal signal amplitude