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Nov 20, 2010

Storing Your Data For a Billion Years

As concerned as we are about memory, we haven't done much to preserve it. Most of ourhard drives don't last past 30 years. But soon, using diamond-like carbon nanotubes, even your Gizmodo comments could last practically forever.

The solution, discovered by researchers at the University of California, takes an entirely new approach to data storage. The proposed device would place a microscopic iron crystal inside a carbon nanotube. With the application of an electric signal of just a few volts, the iron nanoparticle moves back and forth along the tube, registering a binary "1" or "0" depending on its position, basically acting as data bits.



While it's a theoretical solution right now, the scientists who created it are confident that we'll someday see a practical application. And when we do, because of the project's nanoscale nature, we may be able to store 25 DVDs' worth of information on a postage stamp-sized storage device.

The prospect of billion-year storage is fascinating and a little terrifying. Do I want researchers ten thousand years from now combing through my drunken tweets? Actually: maybe. Because when our robot overlords comb through the records and find this post, they'll know that I've always been fully supportive of their cold, steely, logical reign.



42 comments:

Anonymous said...

its not enough, i want 100 dvds worth of storage to be able to fit on a device the size of a grain of salt! (sarcasm)

caretaker said...

interesting post

SuciƓ Sanchez said...

SuciƓ's fap folder doesn't need to last quite that long.

Rezden said...

Pretty interesting stuff, just one more step towards becoming eternal beings.

Classically Trained Nub said...

Moar space, faster speeds, I'll be happy.

Ratch said...

great technology!

cooperlife said...

4.7gb (1dvd) x 25 = 117.5 gb

not bad. maybe they will be the storage medium to finally replace the 'spinning disc' formats.

Gurney said...

looks awesome

hindenburg said...

Id rather have my computer and files destroyed after I die :D
you know... private things on it and all

befashionistic.blogspot.com/ said...

wow, Billion years is kinda a lot

sixstringzach said...

hahaha. the biggest fap folder in the world which can last forever!

great stuff though. keep posting!

Hitchcock said...

great info

Anonymous said...

your post today is amaizing! i like it!
supportin & follouing!

Alex said...

nano technology is the future!

Style said...

Hahaha very informative

Some Guy said...

Wow nice post man

Some Guy said...

Wow nice post man

Ronoh said...

This is almost scary to think about.

Sinisa said...

good informations...

Anonymous said...

Wooh, then we can store a blueprint for the Cornbrator so they can make it in a gazillion years!

Unknown said...

I have one of these and I'll tell you they are sweet, the transfer rate isn't great though.

(Lying)

MRanthrope said...

it will be like that shitty movie, A.I. where only our technology survives.

AKIBA-POP! said...

..kind of cool. MY LEGEND WILL LIVE ON FOREVER

Sam said...

it's still theoretical, i'd like to see this in stores

kushman said...

Hopefully whenever this storage medium comes out, it will be cheap! I'd upgrade to SSD drives, but they are too expensive!

killerkun said...

These kind of discoverias never cease to amaze me

Nekura said...

But then by the time the technology we have allows us to mass produce units like that we'll have some better version of memory saving such as chips in our head or something.

MarkoManager said...

Very interesting...

Anonymous said...

Technology is advancing so fast! They are coming out with crazy ideas!

focusing the lens said...

If this actually becomes practical in application, that would be amazing. I just can't imagine how anthropologists in the future will feel, looking through drunken tweets, like mentioned. We don't have quite the same records of classical civilizations, and I wonder if that's not a good thing.

level85nerd said...

creepy thing! :o

Copyboy said...

The problems aren't the theories coming to life. It's unveiling the theories at the right time of the selling season – Back to School, holiday, arbor day, etc.

Astra said...

wow, what we do now, could be read by future generations, potentially

Unknown said...

About time we replace CD/DVDs. I'm tired of seeing that "Disc cannot be read" message. When I'm eighty I want to be able to watch all forty season of The Simpsons on one cube.

SoreLosersGaming said...

Is this the solid state memory killer, before SSM is even any good!? :P

shahidj said...

freaking crazy, technology is going so far these days

000 said...

awesome stuff

Jeff said...

I wish 75% of the half-witted drunken nonsense I type would disappear before sunrise.

Geeky Dave said...

Wow that's awesome. Scary that it'll then be possible for our descendants to see how completely mental we all are. Or our collective weirdness might overthrow our future robot overlords.

dragnlamer said...

amazing and scary all at once. a new way to leave behind your legacy..if you so desire

Rvg2151 said...

Cool. I cant wait for it!

Dr. Steve said...

It feels like science in here.

"and it woulnt be enughn to say i love you but yu kno its true,,,,,... doooont stop, beleeeeeeevving......"