Researchers create nanotube memory that can store data for a billion years

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley have developed an ultra-dense memory chip that is capable of storing data for up to a billion years (besting silicon chips by roughly... a billion years). Consisting of a crystalline iron nanoparticle shuttle encased within a multiwalled carbon nanotube, the device can be written to and read from using conventional voltages already available in digital electronics today. The research was led by Alex Zettl, who notes that current digital storage methods are capable of storing mass amounts of data, but last just decades, while, say, some books have managed to last nearly a thousand years, though the amount of data they contain is quite small. The new method, called shuttle memory, is based on the iron nanoparticle which can move back and forth within the hollow nanotu. Zettl believes that, while shuttle memory is years away from practical application, it could have a lot of archival applications in the future. There's a video after the break, hit the read link for more tiny details.

[Via The Register]

[Will @ Jun 9th 2009 10:35PM]

Am I going to need a government grant just to purchase this storage device?

[Andy @ Jun 9th 2009 10:48PM]

Correction: "Am i going to be reincarnated 10000000 times to create a situation where this might actually be necessary?"

[Aguiluz @ Jun 9th 2009 10:53PM]

Like all memory forms, this gets cheaper over time.

The 1957 IBM's RAMAC 350 (first hard drive) costed $35,000 a year to lease - for 5MB of space.

[Steven K @ Jun 9th 2009 11:00PM]

yes its great until they try to load it up with real player 1 billion years from now and have to wait another 1 billion for it to buffer

[General_Trelane, (retired) @ Jun 9th 2009 11:12PM]

I have a message to send into the far distant future.....


"MONSTER CABLES SUCK"!!!!

[va jj @ Jun 10th 2009 1:08AM]

a really tight vagina?

[mirakutea @ Jun 10th 2009 3:40AM]

Because we all need access to all the data in world in the space of a single gameboy cartridge.

[Daniel @ Jun 9th 2009 10:38PM]

sweet, now i can pass on my dvd collection and degtial media till the end of time.

[Terry @ Jun 9th 2009 10:45PM]

This is unequivocally THE most groundbreaking discovery in the technology since last week. Now all that's left is to wait a couple decades until someone can vaporize/vapor-proof this.

[yopladas @ Jun 9th 2009 10:45PM]

Will it hold my p0rn?

[Aguiluz @ Jun 9th 2009 10:47PM]

Oh, hell yes!

[Celanor @ Jun 9th 2009 10:47PM]

Skynet will never forget...

[BigD145 @ Jun 9th 2009 10:51PM]

Does this mean a basic solar flare can wipe out important information half a billion years from now?

[idiot @ Jun 9th 2009 10:53PM]

What if I shake it really hard....

[LongshotX @ Jun 9th 2009 11:01PM]

That will give our energy based descendants time to evolve and learn how stupid humanity was.

[Greg @ Jun 9th 2009 11:01PM]

So that's what those weird cube things, the Jedi's have are made of. In all seriousness though you'd better hope if you happen to put any incriminating evidence on something made of this it immediately gets destroyed. If and when the usage of this tech happens, I can see the headlines "President ...... 100 years later is found to be guilty of a massive scandal...."

[Anonymous @ Jun 9th 2009 11:06PM]

But will that President still be alive?

[Heath @ Jun 9th 2009 11:17PM]

forget grammar, can we at least run a spellchecker on these articles before they go up? "amounf"??? come on...

[Amun @ Jun 10th 2009 12:36AM]

ZEE SPELCHEK, IT DOS NOZSING!

[superhobo @ Jun 10th 2009 7:00AM]

How about "nanotu"?

[ED @ Jun 9th 2009 11:04PM]

Wow, this could be really... uh... what was the article about again?

[The Dude @ Jun 9th 2009 11:06PM]

Billion year old porn. Amazing.

[echo1 @ Jun 10th 2009 3:31PM]

hmmmm..... evolution fetish

[GroovDude @ Jun 9th 2009 11:14PM]

/fdisk
/format C: /s

Okay done, send it on it's way!!! ^_^

[Rocko @ Jun 9th 2009 11:16PM]

yeah, well I just saved 10% on my car insurance by switching to Geico. Beat that, UC Berkeley

[darkmax @ Jun 9th 2009 11:33PM]

At the launch day event.....

Presenter "We are happy to announce that now you can store your memories for a billion more years to come. Professor, please do us the honor."

[A man in white coat walks to the terminal and plug in a usb thumbdrive, typing a few commands that is displayed on the big white screen behind the presenter.]

"Beep"

[A message flashes on the screen]

"Fatal error. Please replace data storage media."

[lolzor @ Jun 9th 2009 11:44PM]

it's over 9000!

[digitallysick @ Jun 9th 2009 11:46PM]

In other news Sony discovers the same nanotube technology but puts it in a format different from everyone else. Apple also is going into nanotubes, But for now they will just sell you the tube, the technology part will come later for low low contract price, unless of course, you are already on contract

[CH3BURASHKA @ Jun 9th 2009 11:52PM]

Shut up with your stupid research and implement your crap already!

[AK66 @ Jun 10th 2009 12:06AM]

Did anybody else notice the amount of spelling issues in the article?

[Zephir365 @ Jun 10th 2009 12:18AM]

The guy (Alex Zettl) is actually my Physics professor. Cool guy. Here's a picture of him:
http://ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=211948

[va jj @ Jun 10th 2009 1:05AM]

hopefully big enough to store my favorite episode of family guy.

[paul34 @ Jun 10th 2009 1:42AM]

So I guess some future civilization will at least get our porn after we're long gone and "no trace has ever been found of that ancient civilization - is it myth?"

I hope they enjoy Tera Patrick.

Lord knows I do

[Str1ker @ Jun 10th 2009 6:26AM]

And the first version that's released will be a huge 1MB!

[dosguy @ Jun 10th 2009 7:58AM]

But what happens in one billion years and one day? Does your data suddenly go 'poof' and disappear forever? Or is there some kind of warning that it's time to back it up? Just wondering.

[Wwhat @ Jun 10th 2009 8:05AM]

It's an odd thought that all your personal communication will now be stored by the government for a billion years, so that they can check if you are from a lineage that something 'wrong' half a billion years ago.
It sort of defeats the reason to have kids now that we can be immortal in NSA and grand unified EU databases and our legacy is assured :)

[DER GORF @ Jun 10th 2009 8:12AM]

Just imagine, future generations one billion years from now on will be able to watch your porn... oO

[Wwhat @ Jun 10th 2009 12:26PM]

They won't put up with grainy HD in 2D, also the women now only have 1 head and no bodycovering fur and only come in 1 color, and that in only 3 shades or so.

.