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Think of the value of centuries of stored data to future historians. Well, thanks to a team of scientists at the University of Southampton, humans may now be able to preserve a record of the entire history of humankind.
Last month, the university’s Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) announced a breakthrough with a new device called the ‘Superman Memory Crystal’. A process of etching data into the glass with a laser allows the memory crystal to be scanned in five dimensional (5D) digital data, while storing properties including a whopping 360 TB/disc data capacity.
Up to 14 billion years of storage
Additionally, the crystal is pretty tough to destroy. It boasts a thermal stability up to 1832 degrees Fahrenheit (1000 degrees Celsius) and virtually unlimited lifetime at room temperature.
In other words, the nanostructured glass could store data for nearly 14 billion years. Needless to say, that much capacity would make a lot of digital music and movie lovers very happy.
Professor Peter Kazansky, from the ORC, commented: “It is thrilling to think that we have created the technology to preserve documents and information and store it in space for future generations. This technology can secure the last evidence of our civilisation: all we’ve learnt will not be forgotten.”
Rokas Drevinskas of the Physical Optics Group at Southampton University said “Our next goal is to increase the speed of writing and develop a microscope-free read-out drive. We are developing the technology similar to what is used for reading conventional CD/DVDs introducing the additional two dimensions.”
The group hopes that with support from investors they will be able to eventually reach the mass market in the next several years.
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