In the last few decades, we have seen Hard disks transforming from big magnetic tapes to small compact pen drive-sized drives. Technology is continuously improving, and we are looking forward to reduce the size as much as possible and store more data in that small size. Nanotechnology and quantum computing will play a major role in this, and we are just in the beginning stage of this exploration.
Today I read an interesting article where they mentioned that they have hit a bit milestone in creating new stamp-sized hard drives. This will be able to store 100X more storage compared to the regular hard drives. We have already seen some great innovations where from magnetic tapes to magnetic disks to micro chips, hard disks have evolved and are already very small in size today. This innovation keeps continuing and now a new magnetic molecule storage has been idetified that can store more data and is also dense in size.
I don't know what the cost of this innovation will be. This technology is using a rare earth element called dysprosium, which is capable of retaining its magnetic memorty at 100 Kelvin. So far, the existing record is only up to 80 Kelvin. More technical details on this innovation can be found in the reference article. But in general, it will be sustainable only if this technology becomes cheaper than the current technology or maybe commercial companies might still want to use this as it reduces the size greatly and they don't mind spending extra on this. Especially this will be very helpful for datacenters. I guess this is just getting started, and it can take a lot more time to hit the market.
I still see this as a great innovation that can pave the way to innovations in this route, where small size storage devices can still be a possibility. I wanted to have something similar done for the batteries as well because right now the size of batteries are huge when we compare with the capacity needs but that's another innovation that is very much required in the modern world. It can be easy for us to say that we need better innovation, but the scientists should be trying hard to find something that is really innovative and sustainable.
It is not just about the storage alone. These days, the expectation is very high that the accessibility of the stored data should also be faster. The data storage need is also increasing at a very high rate, and at the same time, big data farms are also planning to reduce their space requirements and provide a sustainable service.
The reference article had lots of technical information on this breakthrough or innovation. It was very interesting to read. I recommend all data enthusiasts to read this article and understand more about this innovation. It is very interesting to read more about such innovations happening across the world, but it would be even more great if these innovations reach the end user and market as soon as possible.
Reference:
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