Nanotubes will store information for billion years

18th June 2009

Chemists managed to create a special technology that can be used to store data for more than a billion years. This was reported in a press release published by the American Chemical Society and the article itself is to be published in June in the Nano Letters magazine. In their studies the scientists managed to obtain hollow carbon nanotubes, which contain inside of them the smallest iron particle. The researchers found that applying potential difference to the ends of the tube, they can move the metal particle inside. In addition, electrical impulses can be used to determine the location of the fragment. It turned out that the location affects the resistance of the tube, and these impulses do not change the particle`s location. According to researchers, the use of such nanotubes as simple storing devices would allow people to achieve fantastic density of data recording: 16 GB per cm2.
Such density is achieved due to the fact that a nanotube can encode not only the two provisions (ie 0 and 1) but much more. The scientists carried out calculations and found out that information on such media under normal conditions can be well stored for up to a billion years.
We all know that modern electronic media can not provide storage time longer than a few decades. The example stands no comparison…