catesta Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 If the whole in the middle was not round, you would have to place the CD in a certain angle relative to the spindle. And we all know how difficult that could be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 here am I, putting these CDs in a very specific angle relative to the spindle and now you people are gonna tell me that ain't necessary? woa, couldn't you have said this earlier?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris Posted December 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 And we all know how difficult that could be. Especially whilst picking my round nostrils with one hand and drinking beverages through round holes with the other All this talk about fingering the holes of CDs is getting me hot, but you'd thnk they'd have made the holes in LPs bigger if that were really an issue... but what do I know, I'm just an unqualified adult attempting to explain obvious things to my inner child Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockefeller center Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neveronfriday Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 And I always thought the holes were round so you could hold 'em on your finger when you fumbling with jewel cases, etc.! Jewel cases. There's a topic in there somewhere .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 All this talk about fingering the holes of CDs is getting me hot, but you'd thnk they'd have made the holes in LPs bigger if that were really an issue... but what do I know, I'm just an unqualified adult attempting to explain obvious things to my inner child they needed the space for all those dandy logos and spiffy track info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 (edited) here am I, putting these CDs in a very specific angle relative to the spindle and now you people are gonna tell me that ain't necessary? woa, couldn't you have said this earlier?! I'll drink to that! "Sir, do you prefer your beer with or without a pencil?" Edited December 19, 2003 by catesta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris Posted December 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 "'Oh, Jazz....they're just making that up as they go along'" -- Homer Simpson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 You guys are forgetting one very important detail: Take a look at this picture: So the above is a standard tray-loading cd player, with the tray extended. Notice the black mechanism with the circular indent in it, just to the right of the tray. Now look at this picture: The tray is black in this picture, but it's the same mechanism. Notice the tray is not extended anymore. So the loader is closed. The thing on top, with the white circular part, is the crux of why a CD's hole is round. That unit on the top with the white circular contraption (I'm sorry I don't know the names for these things)... that piece is lowered onto the CD when the tray is closed. On the underside of that white contraption is a spindle that goes through the CD and a clamp to hold it steady. Now on the underside of the mechanism (ie, if you were to flip the entire unit over) another piece comes up to the bottom of the CD and clamps it as well. So you have two clamps, one on top, one on bottom, that suspend the CD between them, one of which is powered by a motor to spin the CD. Now remember that the upper clamp (or the lower clamp, I'm not sure which) has a spindle that has to go through the center of the CD in order to make sure it's aligned with the laser and also that it (the CD) is suspended exactly in the middle of the clamps, so when it spins, it doesn't spin lop-sided (that wouldn't be good). Now how much of a pain in the ass would it be if the spindle hole of the CD was square? Or plus-shaped (like a Phillips screw driver)? That would mean the spindle in the CD mechanism would have to be square or plus-shaped as well. And then you'd have to put the CD in the player in a certain way.... with a certain orientation or else the spindle wouldn't go through. You have to line up a square peg with a square hole. With a circular peg, you can just shove that baby in without worrying about corners and such. Get my drift? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Bah. Logic. It takes all the fun out of life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris Posted December 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Now THAT makes sense, even to this unqualified adult Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Stop, stop! The beverage keeps shooting out of my nose! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 why do they call it ovaltine? the mug is round... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 why do they call it ovaltine? the mug is round... Now I am confused...is he saying he has some spare change for beer, and all I have to do is put my arms around him....hmmmm...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 Well, I guess Jim answered the question although I didn't understand what he said. Nice visual aids though. In addition, I think it's also marketing; it reminds americans of the old 45s, it's easy to pick up and it fits easily into the jewel case. However, I'm sure that the jewel case, as it now exists, was invented or adapted to whatever the Cd was going to look like, not the other way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricia Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 Well, I guess Jim answered the question although I didn't understand what he said. Nice visual aids though. In addition, I think it's also marketing; it reminds americans of the old 45s, it's easy to pick up and it fits easily into the jewel case. However, I'm sure that the jewel case, as it now exists, was invented or adapted to whatever the Cd was going to look like, not the other way around. Chicken. Egg. My head hurts. Maybe the Phillips' star-shape would have been too difficult, the the Robertson square would have been, IMO, more stable and not that hard to teach people to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 In addition, I think it's also marketing; it reminds americans of the old 45s we've reached another level! Why is the hole in a 45 round? wouldn't square (or star/plus/triangle/... shaped) be better wrt matters of friction and relay of tracking forces? :rsly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 here am I, putting these CDs in a very specific angle relative to the spindle and now you people are gonna tell me that ain't necessary? woa, couldn't you have said this earlier?! I'll drink to that! "Sir, do you prefer your beer with or without a pencil?" Actually, I'd prefer mine without the chin hairs in it! That mug on the top - don't want it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacman Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 some of you are thinking to deeply. the answer is simple, grasshoppers: the hole is determinatly proportionally to the angular formation of a increasingly simple left turn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 And I don't like wise ass people with more to say in their small letter disclaimers than in their actual message (what was that main message about anywho? ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bright Moments Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 There are actually great explanations of why the CD iself is round, ... Actually, i was representing a Latin record company in the late 1980's that released several "shape cd's". These cd's were not round at all (as the name "shape cd's" implies) and they play just fine. I still have several somewhere! B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connoisseur series500 Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 I'm not sure I understood B-3ers explanation, though everyone agrees it was the definitive conclusion. Maybe the center has to be round so that a belt can spin it. Belts can't spin star- or square-shaped centers. Fingers are round and therefore, have terrific rotational dynamics when it comes to mining boogers. That's an easier one to explain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgraham333 Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 ...the hole is determinatly proportionally to the angular formation of a increasingly simple left turn... and "four lefts is a circle" -Nicholas Cage in Trapped In Paradise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 I'm not sure I understood B-3ers explanation, though everyone agrees it was the definitive conclusion. Maybe the center has to be round so that a belt can spin it. Belts can't spin star- or square-shaped centers. Fingers are round and therefore, have terrific rotational dynamics when it comes to mining boogers. That's an easier one to explain. CD players do not have belts. They are direct-drive. Think of it this way: You have a portable disc player, right? You know how you put the disc on that round spindle? Imagine what a pain it would be if the spindle were a different shape, like a square... you'd have to line up the CD perfectly in order to fit it over the spindle. Now, that's not too difficult for you and me, but now imagine just sticking a CD in a front-loading CD player... That square spindle now has to somehow go through the square hole in the CD player all by itself... no human hand to align it. Big problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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