disk burning

Disk burning is the process of writing data to a recordable CD, DVD, or Blu-ray disc using a laser that etches information onto the disc's surface.

The term comes from the laser's heat physically altering the disc material.

Though the technology has largely been replaced by flash drives and cloud storage, it remains useful for creating permanent archives or media that plays in older devices: I spent an hour burning a playlist to CD for the road trip.