Floppy disk

A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, a diskette, or a disk) is a type of <a href="/facts/Disk_storage/hnsXRb5X">disk storage</a> composed of a thin and flexible disk of a <a href="/facts/Magnetic_storage/QaK6oArm">magnetic storage</a> medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined with a fabric that removes dust particles from the spinning disk. The three most popular (and commercially available) floppy disks are the 8-inch, 5¼-inch, and 3½-inch floppy disks. Floppy disks store <a href="/facts/Digital_data/JChckAvr">digital data</a> which can be read and written when the disk is inserted into a floppy disk drive (FDD) connected to or inside a <a href="/facts/Computer/SQe1aK05">computer</a> or other device.
The first floppy disks, invented and made by <a href="/facts/IBM/QszA7nwd">IBM</a> in 1971, had a disk diameter of 8 inches (203.2 mm). Subsequently, the 5¼-inch (133.35 mm) and then the 3½-inch (88.9 mm) became a ubiquitous form of data storage and transfer into the first years of the 21st century. 3½-inch floppy disks can still be used with an external <a href="/facts/USB/XcIKWLyg">USB</a> floppy disk drive. USB drives for 5¼-inch, 8-inch, and <a href="/facts/Floppy_disk_variants/Vz223Rqp">other-size</a> floppy disks are rare to non-existent. Some individuals and organizations continue to use older equipment to read or transfer data from floppy disks.
Floppy disks were so common in late 20th-century culture that many electronic and software programs continue to use save icons that look like floppy disks well into the 21st century, as a form of <a href="/facts/Skeuomorph/2csAtdNU">skeuomorphic design</a>. While floppy disk drives still have some limited uses, especially with <a href="/facts/Legacy_system/YvYjMcCz">legacy industrial computer equipment</a>, they have been superseded by data storage methods with much greater data storage capacity and <a href="/facts/Computer_data_storage/wPHKFpdx">data transfer speed</a>, such as <a href="/facts/USB_flash_drive/Jv0qmTCF">USB flash drives</a>, <a href="/facts/Memory_card/Rwy2lKS2">memory cards</a>, <a href="/facts/Optical_disc/vjVDB1GH">optical discs</a>, and storage available through local <a href="/facts/Computer_network/3w5RM99p">computer networks</a> and <a href="/facts/Cloud_storage/cNw9IK3Q">cloud storage</a>.

Floppy disk open-in-new

Floppy disk