'It seemed to defy the laws of physics': The everlasting 'memory crystals' that could slash data centre emissions
BBC • • world
Key Points:
- Researchers are exploring innovative data storage solutions like "memory crystals" etched into glass using femtosecond lasers and DNA storage to address the rapidly growing global data production and its environmental impact.
- Kazansky's memory crystals encode data in five dimensions within durable fused silica glass, potentially storing up to 360 terabytes on a small glass platter without ongoing energy needs for data retention, with commercial prototypes expected in the next few years.
- DNA data storage offers extremely high density and longevity, with a gram of DNA theoretically holding 215 petabytes, and requires minimal energy for preservation, but high synthesis costs and slow write speeds remain significant challenges.
- Data centers currently consume about 1.5% of global electricity, with energy use projected to double
