> If the data on drive was so sensitive, I would use chemistry first. Then
> a bit of heavy hammer physic, and finally a good heat with partial
> ionisation, at temperature far above the curie point.
>
> Boiling HCl is probably enough, as a starter. (get ride of most iron&
> steel). Wear a protective mask and operate under well vented condition.

I'm not so sure acid would actually work. You're assuming that the layer 
of iron is at the surface; this is not necessarily the case. It may well 
have a layer of lacquer on top.

Also, you would /think/ that soaking plastic in a wide range of 
hydrocarbon solvents would destroy it. But having personally tried it 
with almost the entire contents of our lab's reagent cupboards, I can 
confirm that this is not the case at all. Similarly, mineral acids are 
probably not the flesh-eating monsters we all see on TV.

I have also discovered that most drives seem to have platters made of 
glass. It's really very, very easy to shatter these, requiring no 
specialist equipment at all. (Beyond some way of undoing the screws. 
They quite often require unusual drivers... A drill sometimes does the 
job though.)

The Curie point of pure iron is 770°C. My oven only goes up to 250°C. 
(This is probably related to the fact that my oven is *made of* iron!) 
You would need some kind of industrial kiln.

The melting point of glass varies by type. Borosilicate glass melts at 
"only" 800°C, but most types melt at well over 1,00°C. (The median 
temperature is listed as 1,700°C.) Good luck finding an oven that hot!

Really, unless you work for the DOD, a software wipe with /any/ data 
pattern, followed by some gentle prodding with a hammer is quite sufficient.

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