Answer: Solid-State Drive

A solid-state drive (SSD) is simply a data storage device that uses integrated circuits to store persistent data. This solid-state storage is a contrast to the electro-magnetic media (such as traditional platter-based hard drives and floppy disks) that dominated the data storage market for the latter part of the 20th century.

While solid-state technology has existed since the late 1950s in various forms, it wasn’t until the latter part of 2000 that it began to appear in the consumer market. Flash drives, the ubiquitous little USB-based drives used for portable data storage, are an early example of a compact solid-state drive widely adopted by consumers.

Astronomical pricing kept computer hard drives based on solid-state technology out of consumer reach until a few short years ago. Now it’s possible to enjoy the benefits of a solid-state drive—such as lightning fast seek times and silent operation—without taking out a loan to do so.