Scientists from the University of Michigan have discovered that digital information can be stored on colloidal clusters, translating them into one of the states - 0 or 1 in traditional binary logic.
The study's author, a chemical engineer at the University of Michigan, Sharon Glotzer, describes the new technology using the example of a Rubik's cube. Think of the nanoparticles of the solution as the colors of a cube, each connected to a central sphere that can be rotated in different directions to arrange them.
“If we can number all these differing patterns - or states - and understand how we can move from one of them to another, we can encode information with them,” says Glotzer. "The more colors we have, the more states are available to us, and the more information we can store."
In theory, a teaspoon of water containing nanoparticles can store up to several terabytes of data. This innovative way of storing data has the potential to create biocompatible nanoparticles that can be used internally - and in tandem - with the human body.
One of the practical applications of such technologies can be a simple sensor. Clusters of nanoparticles can be injected into the bloodstream to monitor, for example, sugar levels.
Another application that can potentially be realized in the coming years is "passive sensors". They are able to replace “expiration dates” on food packaging, changing their color when the food in them becomes unusable.
And in the most daring concepts, such digital colloids can find use in brain implants that can help the human brain process additional information, or complex calculations without the help of technology. This will enable us to learn and absorb information at an unprecedented rate.