Re: [ME] Re: Crippled US EP-3

["Robert J. Hansen" <rjhansen@xxxxxxxx>]

> watch off), then hitting it with a big hammer a lot of
> times, then burning the bits. Tapes from vacuum driven

Unfortunately, burning doesn't work.  To erase data by means of heat, you
have to raise the temperature of the iron-oxide coating past its Curie
point, at which it will become demagnetized.  Iron oxides have Curie points
running around 770 C, or well above what you can get by a conventional
furnace.

Fortunately, the melting point of aluminum is considerably less than 770 C,
so while you can't demagnetize the iron oxides, you can melt the aluminum
platters into slag, and have the iron oxides randomly embedded into the
slag.  At that point it's probably destroyed, but I still wouldn't count on
it until/unless you push it past the Curie Point and keep it there for
thirty minutes.

And no, please, nobody ask why I know this.  :)