Solid state refers to electronic circuits that consist entirely of semiconductors. The term was originally used to define those electronics, such as a transistor radio, that used semiconductors instead of vacuum tubes in their construction.
What is an SSD (Solid State Drive)?
Most electronics today are built around semiconductors and chips. A solid state drive uses semiconductors as its primary storage medium instead of the magnetic platters of a conventional hard drive.
Solid state drives and USB flash drives use the same type of non-volatile memory chips that retain information when power is removed. The difference is in the form factor and capacity of the drives. While a flash drive is designed to be external to the computer system, an SSD is designed to sit inside the computer instead of a more traditional hard drive.
Many SSDs look almost identical to a conventional hard drive on the outside. This design allows the SSD to be placed in a laptop or desktop computer in place of a hard drive. To do this, it must have the same standard dimensions as a 1.8-inch, 2.5-inch, or 3.5-inch hard drive. It also uses the common SATA interface, so it can be easily inserted into any PC just like a hard drive. There are several newer form factors, such as M.2, which looks more like a memory module.
