Microsoft team creates 'revolutionary' data storage system that lasts for millennia
Nature • • general
Key Points:
- Microsoft researchers have developed a glass-based data storage system capable of preserving readable data for at least 10,000 years, far exceeding the lifespan of current magnetic tapes and hard drives.
- The system uses a high-energy laser to create nanoscale deformations in borosilicate glass, encoding data that can be read with a microscope; a 12 cm square piece can store 4.8 terabytes, equivalent to about 2 million printed books.
- Unlike magnetic storage, the glass data is immutable once written, requiring no maintenance or temperature control, and can survive extreme conditions such as 290 ºC for 10,000 years.
- This technology, demonstrated as a deployable archival system, offers a practical and durable
