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Eternal 5D data storage could record the history of humankind | University of Southampton

February 22nd, 2016 by

I have occasionally used the expression, to describe something that will never change, by saying “it will be around ’till the Sun blows up.”  Now, people will hear me and say “huh? So what? So will my pictures of my cat.”

At least, if this technology can be manufactured cheaply enough.  A final end to magnetic tapes, which lurk in the bowels of many data centers to this day.

Scientists at the University of Southampton have made a major step forward in the development of digital data storage that is capable of surviving for billions of years.Using nanostructured glass, scientists from the University’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) have developed the recording and retrieval processes of five dimensional (5D) digital data by femtosecond laser writing.The storage allows unprecedented properties including 360 TB/disc data capacity, thermal stability up to 1,000°C and virtually unlimited lifetime at room temperature (13.8 billion years at 190°C ) opening a new era of eternal data archiving. As a very stable and safe form of portable memory, the technology could be highly useful for organisations with big archives, such as national archives, museums and libraries, to preserve their information and records

Big archives?  They only hold 750 Terabytes. I know one young woman that probably posts at least that many bytes of selfies every year. 

 

Source: Eternal 5D data storage could record the history of humankind | University of Southampton

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