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  From: Bruce Moffatt <bmoffatt@picknowl.com.au>
  To  : Gregory Hicks <ghicks@ihug.com.au>
  Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 20:17:37 +1030

Re: Wiping a drive

Gregory Hicks wrote:
> 

> The water reacts with the aluminium and can flatten the entire factory
> 

I knew there would be an interest in this topic for me if I held on long
enough. An anecdote borne of robust first hand knowledge. If molten
aluminium is poured into a sand mould, and that sand mould is not really
really dry, the molten aluminium may pour itself back out of the sand
mould at very great speed, as the moisture gets hot and vapourises and
takes up much much more space. If you happen to be peering into that
same sand mould at the time to see when to stop pouring, you just might
get your eyelid removed. This can be extremely painful and annoying.
Also accidentally spilling molten aluminium into a workboot while you
are holding one end of a two-person pouring cradle can be interesting.
The person at the other end of the pouring cradle may not want to drop
the crucible full of molten aluminium, just because you are making lots
of noise. Putting a stick of sodium into a 44 gallon drum of water for
safe keeping is a mistake that is usually only made once.

As for wiping a drive, if your data is so very sensitive that absolutely
no-one, not even you, can ever be allowed to read it again, filing the
drive platter to fine grit is hard to beat.

Bruce who has been to hell in a non-ferrous foundry and lived to return
and talk about it. Got a nice bronze bell, though. DONGGGGgg

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