13.8 Billion Years from now

Tiny 5D Disc can store 360 TB of data for 13.8 Billion years

UK researchers have invented a tiny glass disc (or more correctly, “a five dimensional (5D) digital data disc")  that can store 360 terabytes of data for 13.8 billion years”.

Researchers at Optoelectronics Research Center (ORC) in the University of Southampton devised a revolutionary way to record and retrieve five dimensional (5D) data on a nanostructured glass disc using femtosecond lasers. Information was stored on the disc using ultrafast lasers, which produced intense yet very short light pulses. The digital 1’s and 0’s on the disc in nanostructured dots.

This technology is referred to as “Superman memory crystal”.

The properties of the glass disc allow to store up to 360 TB of digital data and can withstand extreme temperatures of up to 1,000 degree Celsius (equivalent to 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit).

The disc can store the data up to 13.8 billion years, if stored at room temperatures of up to 190 degrees Celsius (374 degrees Fahrenheit).

Why is this important to space exploration? 

According to the researchers, the technology offers a safe and stable form of memory storage that can be used to store large volumes of information for various organizations such as libraries, museums and national archives. A professor at Optoelectronics Research Center, Peter Kazansky said “This technology can secure the last evidence of our civilization: all we’ve learnt will not be forgotten.”