new Five-dimensional glass discs can store 360TB of data for up to 13.8 billion years will outlive human race..
Scientists at the University of Southampton say they have harnessed five-dimensional digital data systems that could survive for billions of years.
Each memory crystal - created by etching data into the glass using lasers - has 360 terabytes of data capacity.
It can also withstand temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius, and it is estimated that at typical temperatures they could survive for billions of years.
Ultrafast lasers which give off short intense pulses of light are used to inscribe information on three layers of nanostructured dots.
The glass uses self-assembling nanostructures which change the path of light travelling through it.
The changes in light polarisation means it can be read using an optical microscope and a polariser.
The information is then revealed in five dimensions - size, orientation, and the 3D position of the nanostructures.
Scientists have tested the technology by using it to record historical documents including the Magna Carta and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Professor Peter Kazansky said: "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 civilization: all we've learnt will not be forgotten."
source . http://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2016/02/5d-data-storage-update.page
Scientists at the University of Southampton say they have harnessed five-dimensional digital data systems that could survive for billions of years.
Each memory crystal - created by etching data into the glass using lasers - has 360 terabytes of data capacity.
It can also withstand temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius, and it is estimated that at typical temperatures they could survive for billions of years.
Ultrafast lasers which give off short intense pulses of light are used to inscribe information on three layers of nanostructured dots.
The glass uses self-assembling nanostructures which change the path of light travelling through it.
The changes in light polarisation means it can be read using an optical microscope and a polariser.
The information is then revealed in five dimensions - size, orientation, and the 3D position of the nanostructures.
Scientists have tested the technology by using it to record historical documents including the Magna Carta and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Professor Peter Kazansky said: "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 civilization: all we've learnt will not be forgotten."
source . http://www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2016/02/5d-data-storage-update.page
