Well, we might have the technology, for better or worse.

Hey guys, Amy with you on DNews today talking some incredibly mind-bending data storage

technology!

The new technology comes from scientists at the University of Southampton's Optoelectronics

Research Centre. They developed a five dimensional recording and retrieval process on fused quartz

using femtosecond laser writing -- meaning a laser pulse that lasts one quadrillionth

of a second.

Yeah, you heard that right: a laser is recording data on quartz in 5 dimensions!

To break this down, let's compare this new technology to a CD. When data is stored on

a conventional optical media like a CD, it's stored by burning tiny bumps on one or more

layers of a plastic disc. This means it's stored as bumps using three spatial dimensions:

height, length, and width. When the data on a CD is read, a laser light is bounced off

the disc, registering a 1 when the light bounces off a bump and a 0 when there's no bump.

With those 1s and 0s, it can store anything from books to music to images.

But this new technology of recording data using a femtosecond laser on a fused quartz

disc, it's not making a bump like a CD or a pit like a vinyl record, instead it's

creating self-assembled nanostructures, which are basically layers of 3D dots called nanograting.

And this nanograting produces birefringence in the quartz, bringing out optical properties

rooted in its refractive index. And the scientists have taken advantage of this birefringence

to access two “new” optical dimensions.

When data is read from a five-dimensional quartz, the light being bounced back and read

depending on the nanograting's orientation is the fourth dimension. The varied strength

of the laser's light refracted by the structure is the fifth dimension. Add these to the traditional

three-axes of height, length, and width, you get five dimensions. By taking advantage of

multiple dimensions, each spot in the glass can store three different bits of information.

One file is written in three layers of nanostructured dots each separated by five micrometres (one

millionth of a meter), which is less than 0.0002 inches, meaning it's incredibly densely

packed.

And with so much data stored in such a tiny way, the implications are huge. This storage

method means 360 Terabytes of data can be stored in one small crystal. This is a crystal

with the whole of the King James Bible stored on it.

And while the information on a CD is superficial and can be scratched off, the data stored

in quartz is safe within the structure of the extremely resilient material. It can withstand

temperatures as high as 1,832ºF (1,000°C ) and will last virtually forever stored at

room temperature.

This kind of technology could change the way we store and read data. No more worrying about

degrading a video tape or scratching a disk. The whole of human history could really be

saved in a format that could well outlive the human race. But how does it stack up to

the human brain? Trace looks into how much our brains can store in this episode right

here.

So, of all the everything that's ever happened, what do you guys think is worth preserving

for a literal eternity? Let us know in the comments below, and don't forget to subscribe

so you can watch a new DNews episode every day of the week.

So, of all the everything that's ever happened, what do you guys think is worth preserving

for a literal eternity? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back here every

day for more DNews.

So, of all the everything that's ever happened, what do you guys think is worth preserving

for a literal eternity? Let us know on the Discovery News Facebook page or Twitter feed

@DNews. And you can find me there, too, I'm @astvintagespace. Thanks for watching!