World's Smallest Hard Disk Can Fit All Of Humanity's Books On A Stamp

Researchers with the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at Delft University have created a new "smallest" hard disk, this time using a system where a bit of data is created by positioning one chlorine atom. It now holds the distinction of being the smallest hard disk in the world, though if history proves true, we'll be seeing someone else break this record soon enough. According to one of the researchers, using this method the entire world's library of books could be written to one postage stamp.

The research was lead by scientist Sander Otte; according to the newly published study, the method allows for 500 terabits to be stored in a square inch, which is itself 500x greater than an ordinary HDD. In this case, the position of an atom determines a bit of data; the atoms were repositioned using a scanning tunneling microscope, STM for short.

There are two positions possible, with one position (above a hole) indicating a "1," and the other position (below the hole) indicating a "0." Every block of these atoms, which contains 64 bits, features a marker inspired by QR codes; with the marker, researchers know where on the larger layer the block belongs.

This isn't the first time we've seen studies where data can be stored in an incredibly small fashion. Compared to those studies, however, this latest method is said to be more stable due to the existence of those aforementioned holes, which give the atoms a structure. Methods that use loose atoms aren't structured and are therefore less stable.

SOURCE: EurekAlert