What storage device uses rapidly rotating rigid disks with magnetic surfaces?

The correct answer is a hard drive. A hard drive, particularly a traditional magnetic hard disk drive (HDD), consists of one or more rigid disks that spin at high speeds while reading and writing data on their magnetic surfaces. This mechanism allows for the permanent storage of data on the disks until they are overwritten or deleted. The rapid rotation of the disks facilitates quicker access to the information stored on them by allowing the read/write heads to swiftly position themselves over the appropriate disk section.

In contrast, a solid-state drive (SSD) utilizes flash memory and has no moving parts, which results in faster access times and greater durability, but does not involve rotating disks. A compact disc (CD), while also a storage medium, contains data that is read through a different optical method rather than on magnetic disks. A flash drive, similar to an SSD in its use of flash memory, is portable and also lacks the mechanical components found in hard drives. Therefore, hard drives distinctly use the technology of rapidly rotating disks with magnetic surfaces for data storage.