optical disk

SEE SYNONYMS FOR optical disk ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Computers, Television.

Also optical disc. Also called laser disk. a grooveless disk on which digital data, as text, music, or pictures, is stored as tiny pits in the surface and is read or replayed by a laser beam scanning the surface.
videodisk.
Compare compact disk.

Words nearby optical disk

optical character recognition, optical computer, optical crown, optical density, optical disc, optical disk, optical double star, optical effects, optical fiber, optical fibre, optical flint

British Dictionary definitions for optical disc

optical disc

noun

computing an inflexible disc on which information is stored in digital form by laser technology Also called: video disc

Scientific definitions for optical disc

optical disk
optical disc

A plastic-coated disk that stores digital data, such as music or text, as tiny pits on its surface. The disc is rotated rapidly, and a laser is reflected off the disc to an optical sensor, which is sampled periodically. If the laser strikes the flat area between pits, the sensor picks up the reflection and registers the digital value 1. If the laser strikes one of the pits, it is deflected from the sensor, and the sample value is a digital 0.