I’ve never ripped CDs or DVDs before for any reason and am curious how this works since I have some stuff I wanna see about backing up but am nervous about ruining the disc. I’ve tried looking this up, but every time I do, I obviously am searching for the wrong thing because I have never found the info I’m looking for.
Writable CDs don’t store data on microscopic holes, they instead have a layer of pigment that changes color when heated by a laser.
“The writing process does not produce indentations (pits);” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD-R#:~:text=The writing process does not produce indentations (pits)%3B
CD-RWs have a coating that can change to its original when the laser heats it to a specific temperature (high heat to write, low heat to erase)
“To erase the disc, the write beam heats the amorphous regions with low power to about 200 °C.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD-RW#:~:text=To erase the disc%2C the write beam heats the amorphous regions with low power to about 200 °C.
The pigment also degrades over time, eventually data will become inaccessible.