Researchers at the Optoelectronics Department of the University of Southampton have developed an innovative method of storing digital data that theoretically allows for storing gigantic amounts of information for an infinitely long time. The carrier will be a thin disc made of transparent material the size of a five-ruble coin.
The unique technology, called "Eternal 5D", is characterized by an incredibly high density of data recording, while the information, according to the inventors, will be reliably stored for many billions of years. Given that the Christian era is only just over two millennia, the British-developed optical disc will have an almost unlimited lifespan. "It is more likely that humanity will die out than our drive will fail," jokes Peter Kazansky, one of the authors of the project.
The technology is based on the so-called femtosecond laser, which records data by means of ultra-short pulses onto a quartz glass disk. Up to three hundred and sixty terabytes of information can be recorded on a media with a diameter of two and a half centimeters. According to the British, this is quite enough to store all the useful text information created by our civilization. In 2013, when scientists were just beginning to master this technology, they were able to write a maximum of three hundred kilobytes of text to the drive.
Unique disc capable of surviving atomic war
At temperatures from minus one hundred to plus one hundred and ninety degrees Celsius, such a storage medium can be stored for almost fourteen billion years. Nanostructured quartz is resistant not only to cooling and heating, but also to scratches, impacts and other methods of mechanical stress. Peter Kazansky says: “We have created a technology that allows us to preserve huge amounts of information for our descendants. The most important thing is that quartz disks are practically eternal and, unlike any other modern drives, can survive even an atomic war."
Data is written to disk once and cannot be overwritten. Thus, creating a hard drive based on quartz glass for a home computer will not work. Nevertheless, the technology developed by scientists at the University of Southampton can be used in archives, libraries, museums and educational institutions. At the moment, the British are looking for investors willing to invest in the development and commercialization of this innovation.
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