Compact disc

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The read side of a compact disc.
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The read side of a compact disc.

A compact disc or "CD" is a flat round disc used to store data. CDs were developed in 1979 by Philips and Sony. They are used to store music and other sounds (and sometimes called an "audio CD").

Later, compact discs were made that could be used as a computer storage medium using the same format as audio compact discs. These are called CD-ROMs (Compact Disc Read Only Memory). The computer 'reads' the disc using a CD-ROM drive.

The diameter of a standard CD is 120 mm. The middle hole in a CD has is about the size of a five pence coin (About 1.5cm).

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Compact disc

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