A microfloppy disk's ~Mylar~ media is divided into a number of concentric recording tracks. Each track contains several data sectors which are the blocks where the data is actually stored. An arm positions the |read/write head| over the appropriate track, similar to a record player arm. The drive then spins the disk so the individual data sectors pass beneath the head. The head can then access the data as the appropriate sector passes by. The sector is the smallest block of data that can be accessed by the drive.
The way the sectors are laid out on the disk can be quite important. If the sectors are stored 1, 2, 3, ..., then the computer may not be fast enough to handle sector #1, before sector #2 is passing under the head. In this case, the drive must wait for #2 to come all the way around again before it can be accessed. To compensate for this, a "sector interleave" is used. Sectors are stored 1, 3, 2, 4, ..., giving the computer some leeway before the next sector is ready. This can dramatically increase the disk's performance and usually is set when the drive initially is ~formatted~.
