New Blu-ray Disc to be Made of Corn

aws910 writes "I've often thrown away a CD and wondered how long it will take to biodegrade. Pioneer has developed a blu-ray disc that is made of corn. If this disc is widely used, it may be the only easily biodegradable computer part/accessory (with the exception of pizza). Now I wonder what would happen to one of those new discs if you put one in the microwave for 5 seconds." While the idea of a corn disc isn't new, it's the first Blu-ray version of it.

Who throws away dics?

[fembots]

Eco-friendly disc is nice, but how many people are going to throw away Blu-ray disc?

25GB is serios amount of data, I (maybe just me) would try to keep it even if it contains very unimportant data, since it's so easy to store a disc, it's not like you need one 5x5 room to store it.

--
Play iCLOD Virtual City Explorer [iclod.com] and win Half-Life 2

Genetic Engineering

[vlad_grigorescu]

We have been gentically engineering corn for a variety of purposes for a while now. I wonder if this will spur a "Blu-ray" variant of corn. It should be interesting to consider what properties of the corn would make the best discs (longest lasting, scratch-resistant, etc.)

so a biodegradable archival medium huh?

[way2trivial]

Some manufacturers currently offer what should be a 300 year cdr for archiving... [engadget.com]

how long does the corn last anyway?

Will ants like this, too?

[Anonymous Coward]

I remember seeing a story several months back about ants getting into a powerbook because the board was some kind of polymerized carbohydrate. Will they like discs now, too?

Food supply?

[MP3Chuck]

So I didn't RTFA, but why divert corn from the food supply? I'm sure it's not exactly in short supply but with so many starving people in the world wouldn't it be better off actually feeding people?

Or will the occasional coaster now be edible? ;)

Re:Longevity?

[GreatBunzinni]

Note that being biodegradable doesn't necessarily mean that it has a short life. There are plastics which are biodegradable but are quite durable. I don't know If this is the case but still, don't confuse the two concepts.

And by the way, if in fact these disks break up easily, they may not be of much use for someone who wants to keep data for a long time. But, as you stated on your post, neither are the vast majority (if not all) of the storage media which is bought off the shelf in any store. And, unlike the typical CD-R/CD-RW/whatever, these corn disks break up in a rather environmentaly friendly way, which is a vast improvement.

Shiny?

[marciot]

Don't CDs have to be shiny and reflective? What is shown in the picture sure looks dull and matte. Has blu-ray eliminated the need for the reflective backing? -- Marcio

How to make "corn starch plastic" at home...

[SkyMunky]

(from http://www.wisagclassroom.org/Corn%20Plastic.pdf )

Materials Needed :
cornstarch
measuring spoons
corn oil
water
medicine dropper
food coloring
microwave
sandwich-size resealable plastic bag
Procedure:
1. Place a tablespoon of cornstarch in a resealable plastic bag.
2. Add two drops of corn oil to the corn starch.
3. Add one and a half tablespoons of water to the oil and cornstarch.
4. Stir the mixture.
5.Add two drops of food coloring to the mixture and stir well.
6.Next, microwave your biodegradable plastic for 20-25 seconds on high.

(and obviously, use caution)

Re:Who throws away dics?

[GMC-jimmy]

I generally don't commit junk data to CD's, so I may have to avoid these new corn-made discs.

I still have some archives I burnt to CD-R from way back in 1999. That archive is getting quite extensive, I'd be very upset if I had to reburn that archive every year to avoid media rot. Due to OS reinstalls and FAT32 file corruption, most of my archives are now the sole surviving copy of previous backups. Media rot is already a worrisome concern with me. The media giants, such as the ones represented by the RIAA and the MPAA may be rather pleased with this kind of research. One might need to investigate the source of R&D funding to find the truth for certain. Personally I think this is a bad thing for consumers that rely on data backups.

Polylactic acid

[jbeaupre]

A common plastic made from corn is polylactic acid (just google it). It's strong, clear, and easy to work with. More expensive than its comptetitors. But yes, it is biodegradable. Just toss it in the compost heap. It's also the same plastic used to make absorbable medical implants (sutures, screws, etc). That's right, if put a chunk under your skin (not that I recommend it), your body slowly absorbs it.