Recently we heard about the M-DISC, which can reportedly store data in a rock-like medium for up to 1,000 years. Now, scientists from the University of Southampton have announced the development of a new type of nanostructured glass technology. Not only might it have applications in fields such as microscopy, but it apparently also has the ability to optically store data forever.
The research team, led by Prof. Peter Kazansky, has created what are known as monolithic glass space-variant polarization converters. When imprinted on silicon glass, these converters are able to alter the polarization of ultra-short pulses of laser light passing through them. These pulses proceed to imprint tiny dots called "voxels," which are sort of like 3D pixels, into the glass.
When that glass is then "read" by a laser, the voxels produce tiny whirlpools of light, the properties of which have already been determined by the polarity of the laser pulse that created each voxel. These differing voxel whirlpools represent individual bits of data, like light pulses in fiber optic cables. They can be written, wiped and rewritten into the molecular structure of the glass, and will reportedly never degrade.
The converters could apparently also be used for optical manipulation of atom-sized objects, inexpensive ultra-high resolution microscopic imaging, and possibly even table-top particle accelerators.
The University of Southampton is now working with Lithuanian company Altechna, to commercialize the technology.
A paper on the research was published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
Apparently we will discover hidden messages in the rock formations around our planet, there are allegedly ancient holograms stored within.
The 50G disks sell for $40 each.... x 3TB = about 60 disks or $2400 - for what fits on ONE $300 hard drive - so Blew Raze disks are just bullshit
Plus disks either degrade, grow mould, or become scratched - unless kept in the dark, in a laboratory clean room and are handled with white gloves.
I'd like to see these glass storage plates? brought onto the market for $10 a terror bite or less - with a $50 read writer.
Forget the new tech high pricing - they ought to be sold at every man and their dog has one pricing - from the outset.
Blue Raze and those who brought that out - did so in a way that just gouged every one, so it was too little, too late, for too much - and most people don't even consider BR a back up solution, when HDD's are so much bigger, cheaper and a more straight forward and time / cost effective solution.
@Denis Since it is data stored at the atomic level, these will last as long as it is protected from environmental erosion, just like rocks, indefinitely. Like, for the foreseeable future... thousands of years. And yes, technically glass is a liquid that is solid at certain temps and liquid at others, gas at others, and plasma at highest temps. (Same as every element). So it will last as long as you don\'t, say, hurl it into volcanic lava or launch it into the sun.... or drop it. ;)