Does an USB stick gain weight when you put files on it?

[Bert Harleman]

Does an USB stick gain weight when you put files on it?
or to put it a different way:
Are electrons from outside used to store data on an USB stick?

Since I'm quite new to electronics I cannot give a logical explanation.
I searched a lot on the web and I found the folowing data:

• Flash memory uses the Fowler–Nordheim tunneling principle to charge a
thin oxide layer
• Excited electrons are pushed through and trapped on other side of a
thin oxide layer, giving it a negative charge
• The negative charge give the floating-gate transistor a value of '1'
or '0'

Although I can imagine how the principle works, I do not fully
understand the exact technics.

USB sticks need power supply to read and alter the data on it. But when
information is added, has the amount of electrons increased?

Consider the stick is fully empty at the beginning (all transistors are
not negatively charged and thus have the status of '1')

Bert

 

[Tom Biasi]

Does an USB stick gain weight when you put files on it?
or to put it a different way:
Are electrons from outside used to store data on an USB stick?

Since I'm quite new to electronics I cannot give a logical explanation. I
searched a lot on the web and I found the folowing data:

• Flash memory uses the Fowler–Nordheim tunneling principle to charge a
thin oxide layer
• Excited electrons are pushed through and trapped on other side of a thin
oxide layer, giving it a negative charge
• The negative charge give the floating-gate transistor a value of '1' or
'0'

Although I can imagine how the principle works, I do not fully understand
the exact technics.

USB sticks need power supply to read and alter the data on it. But when
information is added, has the amount of electrons increased?

Consider the stick is fully empty at the beginning (all transistors are
not negatively charged and thus have the status of '1')

Bert

Is a charged capacitor heavier than an uncharged one?

Tom

 

[Bert Harleman]

Hmm, I'm going to say it's heavier when it's charged. I've had to do
some work to move the chagres around and that energy is stored in the
electric field. Lets say a 1 Farad cap charged to 1 kV. an enregy of
1 Mega Joule (I ignored the 1/2 term.) Call c^2 = 10^17 and that's
10^-11 kg or 10^-8 grams.... going be pretty hard to measure on my
micro balance.

George H.

I reckon if there is a difference in weight it will be utterly small
But it's more about the principle of the system in Flash memory

 

[Charles]

Does a human body lose weight at the moment of death? One investigator made
measurements and stated that it does. He determined the weight of the human
soul by his technique.

 

[Tom Biasi]

..... going be pretty hard to measure on my
micro balance.

George H.

Charged one in one hand, uncharged one in the other hand, close your eyes
and move them up and down a little.
You should be able to tell.

Tom

 

[Jamie]

Does a human body lose weight at the moment of death? One investigator made
measurements and stated that it does. He determined the weight of the human
soul by his technique.

And was it it light enough to ship flat rate? Other wise, it maybe an
expensive trip getting to the other side!

 

[Bob Eld]

Does an USB stick gain weight when you put files on it?
or to put it a different way:
Are electrons from outside used to store data on an USB stick?

Since I'm quite new to electronics I cannot give a logical explanation.
I searched a lot on the web and I found the folowing data:

• Flash memory uses the Fowler–Nordheim tunneling principle to charge a
thin oxide layer
• Excited electrons are pushed through and trapped on other side of a
thin oxide layer, giving it a negative charge
• The negative charge give the floating-gate transistor a value of '1'
or '0'

Although I can imagine how the principle works, I do not fully
understand the exact technics.

USB sticks need power supply to read and alter the data on it. But when
information is added, has the amount of electrons increased?

Consider the stick is fully empty at the beginning (all transistors are
not negatively charged and thus have the status of '1')

Bert

No. Data is stored as charges on capacitance. No net collection of electrons
results in the charging or discharging of a capacitor. A capacitor is a two
terminal device. When you charge it a current flows into one terminal and an
exactly equal current flows out of the second terminal. This is what Maxwell
called displacement current and is the basis for our understanding of
current flow in a series circuit. The current there is everywhere the same
and if it is the same, there can be NO net collection of electrons anywhere
in the circuit. What we have in a charged capacitor is an influence of the
electrons across a voltage gradient and not a collection or "bucket" of
electrons. Therefore there can be no increase or decrease in mass because
the total number of electrons is constant. Furthermore there is no mass to
energy conversions or other nuclear processes occuring.