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New Storage Technology Can Protect 360TB for One Million Years

By July 13, 2013March 6th, 2023Technology News

A new storage system breakthrough may change the entire way storage is done, researchers say.

A new type of storage based on a glass medium will not only outlive a single person, but may outlive the entire world. This new system may be able to withstand temperatures up to 1,832 Fahrenheit, and can hold up to 360 TB.

While this new storage system may sound like it’s straight out of a science fiction novel, it’s not too far off. Researchers recently successfully wrote – and then read – 300KB of data to a new storage system made out of fused quartz and glass. The researchers used a femtosecond laser, a type of laser that emits powerful, small pulses of light. The laser is capable of coding three layers of nanostructured dots that are just micrometers apart. Believe it or not, the laser can write data in five different dimensions, based on size, orientation, and the three-dimensional nature of the physical nanostructures.

Professor Peter Kazansky of the Optoelectrics Research Center believes that this new breakthrough will not only be able to help businesses preserve their data as long as it needs to be preserved in a single, compact location, it will also allow us to preserve the evidence that our civilization existed so “all that we’ve learnt will not be forgotten.”

The technology should be brought onto the commercial market sooner rather than later, but the technology hasn’t been perfected just yet.

Image Credit: University of Southampton

Chris Forte

Chris Forte, President and CEO of Olmec Systems, has been in the MSP workspace for the past 25 years. Chris earned his Master’s Degree from West Virginia University, graduating Magna Cum Laude. He was a past member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, a current member of the New Jersey Power Partners and Executive Association of New Jersey, where he has previously served on its board of directors. In his spare time, Chris enjoys traveling with his family. He also admits to being a struggling golfer and avid watcher of college football and basketball. He currently lives in Boonton Township, NJ with his wife, two daughters, son, and black lab Luna.