Editing Bernoulli Box (section)

==Overview==
The original Bernoulli Box "Alpha-10" is a 10&nbsp;MB removable disk drive that spins a disk made of [[PET film (biaxially oriented)|PET film]] at about 1500 [[revolutions per minute|rpm]],<ref name="IomRefMan">[http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/iomega/00701300-000_IOMEGA_Alpha_10H_Technical_Description_Manual_Nov84.pdf IOMEGA Alpha 10H Technical Description Manual]</ref> 1&nbsp;[[μm]] above a [[read-write head]]. Utilizing [[Bernoulli's principle]], the rotation of the disk pulls the flexible disk media down towards the read/write head, and will continue to do so for as long as the disk is spinning. This was in an attempt to make the Bernoulli drive more reliable than a contemporaneous hard disk drive, since a [[head crash]] is made physically impossible: should the disk stop spinning for any reason, it immediately pulls away from the read/write head, preventing damage.

The Bernoulli Box was released in capacities of 10 and, later, 20&nbsp;MB, and its cartridges measure 8.23 x 11.02 x 0.71 inches,<ref name="IomRefMan" /> about the size of a standard piece of letter paper (albeit thicker). Bernoulli Boxes could be configured at time of purchase for either one or two drives within a single enclosure. A drive subsystem can be connected to a host computer via a proprietary interface card that utilizes a 37-pin [[SCSI]] connector.

In 1985, a 5&nbsp;MB, [[RS-422|RS-422 serial]] version of the Bernoulli Box, specific to the original [[Macintosh_128K|Macintosh]] and [[Macintosh 512K]], was released. The cartridges for this Macintosh-only version have a  smaller capacity of just 5&nbsp;MB. However, they are also physically smaller than their predecessors, measuring just 5.5 x 7.4 x 0.53 inches. With the release of the [[Macintosh Plus]] in 1986 (and its on-board SCSI interface), the 5MB Bernoulli Box was quickly discontinued, and the 10 and 20&nbsp;MB versions were adapted for the Macintosh Plus's 25-pin SCSI connector.

The most popular system was the Bernoulli Box II, whose cartridges are 13.6&nbsp;cm wide, 14&nbsp;cm long, and 0.9&nbsp;cm thick, somewhat resembling a [[Floppy_disk#5%C2%BC-inch_floppy_disk|5¼-inch standard floppy disk]]. The Bernoulli Box II was initially released with just a 20&nbsp;[[megabyte|MB]] capacity, but was quickly followed up by drives with capacities of 44&nbsp;MB, then 90&nbsp;MB (with varying levels of backwards compatibility). Eventually, a so-called "MultiDisk" drive was released which sported a maximum capacity of 150&nbsp;MB, but which could also read and write without penalty to other "MultiDisk" cartridges, specifically: 35&nbsp;MB, 65&nbsp;MB, and 105&nbsp;MB, in addition to 150&nbsp;MB.

By 1993, a 230&nbsp;MB Bernoulli Box was released which boosted the maximum possible capacity, and which was also backwards compatible with most previous capacities (albeit at a performance penalty).

Bernoulli Box II drives were sold as either internal units which fit into standard 5¼-inch [[drive bay]]s, or as external units, with either one or two drives within a self-contained enclosure, similar to the original Bernoulli Box, and which connected to the host computer via the external SCSI connector.

All versions of the Bernoulli Box II use a SCSI interface, but external drives can also be converted for use with a [[Parallel port]] interface using a special adapter.

Cartridges for both the original Bernoulli Box, as well as the Bernoulli Box II, have a physical switch on them, analogous to that of a standard 3½-inch [[floppy disk]], in order to enable and disable [[write protection]].