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In computing, to "burn" a disc means to record data onto a blank optical disc, such as a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray, using a laser. The process involves a high-powered laser physically altering the dye layer on the disc to create patterns of light and dark areas that represent digital data (ones and zeros). This is a permanent process for write-once media (like CD-Rs and DVD-Rs) but can be used to add or erase data on rewritable discs (like CD-RWs and DVD-RWs).

How it works:

Data Representation: Computers store information as binary code (ones and zeros).

Laser Action: A laser in the disc drive creates physical changes on the disc's surface.

Reflectivity Changes: These changes alter the way light reflects off the disc.

Data Reading: When the disc is played, a laser reads these patterns of reflected light as digital data.