Glass memory preserves data for centuries

Who would have thought that something as simple as glass could actually be cobbled together to become something totally different – in this case, glass is used in computer memory that makes it far more stable and resilient compared to what you find in modern hard drives that are in the market. According to British researchers, they managed to do this by using lasers to rearrange atoms in glass, since such glass memory is able to withstand temperatures of as much as 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. Not only that, it won’t be affected by water at all, and is able to last for thousands of years, by which you and 10 generations after you would have been long dead and buried by then.

This laser is able to write, wipe and rewrite data into the molecular structure of the glass, where a piece of glass the size of a cellphone screen can hold up to 50GB of information – snazzy, but considering the kind of mass adoption this idea needs with the huge question surrounding the price of something like this might not make it feasible at all.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Computers
Tags: glass, memory, Storage