CDs, DVDs, magnetic storage, SSDs – none of these last forever. But researchers are on the trail of the virtually indestructible data storage of the future.
What kind of data crystal is that? Researchers at the University of Southampton, Great Britain, say they have packed the entire human genome onto a single data crystal. The amount of data is hardly impressive, only around 1.4 GB (via Spektrum).
The decisive factor is the 5D process, which makes the storage device made of transparent glass almost indestructible and, in our understanding of time, eternal – the complete opposite of all digital storage methods known to us so far.
Data crystals are old hat in Star Wars: There are numerous entries in the lore of the fan wiki. They would certainly be a welcome addition to the new Star Wars Outlaws, because anyone who travels through the underworld can certainly make use of tiny, extremely resilient storage units.
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A storage for eternity
What are these 5D data crystals? In 2014, the technology was included in the Guinness World Records (official page about the record). The glass panes, which have a maximum diameter of around 12 centimeters, can hold 360 terabytes (360,000 gigabytes) and keep data intact for billions of years. According to the researchers from England, even the most adverse conditions cannot harm the crystal, for example:
The mini-crystal pictured above could therefore ensure the resurrection of humanity on board a probe in the distant future. If the crystal fell into the hands of aliens who are far more versed in genetics than we are today, they could use the genome to grow new people. But on Earth, such storage devices represent an opportunity to safely preserve the knowledge of our species over long periods of time.
What does “5D“? The five Ds describe the states through which data is stored in the structure of the crystal. Put simply, there are five values that can describe the data: height, length, width, orientation and its position in the crystal. The latter two are achieved by using different laser settings that take advantage of light refraction in the material at the nanometer level (via 5dmemorycrystal.com)
Current storage devices such as SSDs, Blu-Rays or conventional hard drives are so-called 3D storage devices. They store data in several horizontal layers arranged one above the other. A CD is a 2D storage device, there is only one layer, i.e. only length and width.
CDs, DVDs and SSDs don’t last forever? No, all data on data storage devices that are widely used today have a limited lifespan. As Forschungsdaten.info clearly summarizes, even Blu-Rays pressed in 2020 will hardly be usable in 2120.
The data from stored HDDs or SSDs from your home PC will be lost much sooner. The reason is always the same, however: the pressed, laser-burned or otherwise formed structures basically dissolve. You can find out more about a conventional USB stick, whose still intact but mysterious contents caused a lot of speculation, in the following article: A Reddit user finds a USB stick on the train, dares to open it, but the contents are disappointing