February 4, 2026
Thock vs Chunk: choose your fighter
Exploring Different Keyboard Sensing Technologies
From loud “chunk” to quiet chiclet: is the clicky craze over or just getting started
TLDR: The explainer shows how keyboards sense presses—from classic springs to optical and magnetic—with neat CT “X-rays.” Comments erupt over whether the mech craze has faded, dream up piano-like keys, and swoon over vintage “chunk,” reminding everyone that feel and fun matter as much as speed.
Keyboards are having a glow-up: magnetic, optical, capacitive, and the old-school clicky stuff all vying to detect your tap, with cool CT-scan “X-ray” peeks under the hood. But the real action is in the comments. One user fires the starting pistol with: “Is the mechanical keyboard craze still going on?” Suddenly it’s Team Thock vs Team Quiet. Ex-mech fans flaunt their slim Apple boards, while diehards clutch their Model M like it’s a holy relic. Jokes fly about stashing mechanicals “like lost crypto wallets,” and whether loud keys should come with a noise permit.
Then the plot twist: a dream for piano-style keys with constant resistance—not springs, but a weighted lever. Cue the crowd chanting “make keyboards musical again,” while engineers sigh “cool idea, not a thing… yet.” Nostalgia crashes the party when someone recalls terminals that added a solenoid-powered ‘chunk’ on every press, which the comments crown as peak typing vibes. Others warn that HR will write you up for that much noise. The CT scans become keyboard CSI, with folks hunting for hidden paperclips and debating whether “next-gen responsiveness” beats real-world feel. Bottom line: the article maps the tech; the community turns it into a culture war over sound, touch, and soul.
Key Points
- •The article classifies keyboard switch technologies by sensing method: physical contact, optical, electro-magnetic, and capacitive.
- •Physical contact keyboards register input by closing a circuit; implementations include mechanical and membrane designs.
- •Buckling spring switches (e.g., in IBM Model F/M) actuate via a coil spring that buckles, flipping a hammer to make contact.
- •Buckling springs offer durability and clear tactile/audible feedback but have heavy actuation force and loud operation.
- •CT scans and links are provided to visualize and explore internal structures of different switch types.