ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Capacitance Electronic Disc

Hello there! Do you know what a DVD player is and how it plays movies for you to watch? Well, a long time ago, before DVD players existed, there was a different kind of device that played movies called a capacitance electronic disc.

A capacitance electronic disc, or CED for short, was like a big, flat disc that could hold a movie. It was made up of two parts: a thin plastic disc and a special player that could read the movie on the disc. When you put the disc into the player and turned it on, the player would use a tiny needle-like thing to gently touch the surface of the disc.

The disc was covered in lots of tiny little bumps and grooves that held the movie information. When the needle touched the bumps and grooves, the player would send an electrical signal through it. This signal would be turned into a picture and sound that you could see and hear on your TV.

The disc and player worked together like an electrical sandwich. In the middle of the disc, there was a special layer of metal that could hold an electric charge. This layer of metal was like the filling in a sandwich. On the top and bottom of the disc, there were special layers that could hold onto the electric charge, like the bread on a sandwich.

When the player touched the disc with the little needle, it would send an electrical signal to the bottom layer of the disc, which would then store some of the charge. This would create a small electric field around the needle. The needle would then move to the next bump or groove on the disc, and the process would start all over again.

Eventually, the needle would move all the way across the disc, and the player would have read the entire movie. Then, the player would turn the electric signal into a picture and sound so you could watch and listen to the movie.

So, that's what a capacitance electronic disc is, buddy! It's like a really big, flat sandwich that can hold a movie, and a player that can read the movie by sending an electrical signal through it. Cool, huh?