Don't worry, they don't sound squeaky or anything.
Summary Helium drives offer increased storage capacity due to the less dense gas. Helium drives improve speed by reducing drag and allowing precision. Helium drives are eco-friendly, reducing heat, friction, wear, and energy use. While you probably don't spend much time wondering about the gas that fills mechanical hard drives (or even think about spinning rust drives at all) it turns out that changing air for helium in these drives comes with a few nice perks. With helium drives on the market, what's the deal? What's Wrong With Air? Having air inside a hard drive seems pretty logical. It's the same stuff around the drive, and that's how it's been from the start with mechanical drives. However, at the scale and speeds drives operate, "thin air" might actually pose more of an obstacle than you'd think. Air is relatively thick, and the resistance it poses for the moving parts inside a hard drive can have negative consequences in terms of energy use and wear and tear. Moreover, as engineers try to cram more and more storage into the same space, the effects of air turbulence become an issue. How Does Helium Help? As mechanical hard drives are pushed more and more to the physical limit, you need small wins wherever you can get them. Swapping air for helium has numerous benefits. Helium is much, much less dense than air. This is why helium-filled balloons float, and why free helium rises to the top of the atmosphere and we constantly lose our limited supply of it to space. This low…