Data storage in a single atom proven possible by researchers

The science appears to be sound but researchers say it will still take a while before atomic storage becomes commercially viable. Image: Wikimedia Commons

Digital storage is quickly becoming a concern because of the sheer amount of content being produced on a daily basis. But it looks like IBM researchers may have found a solution by dumping all our data into a single atom.

It’s mind-blowing, yes, but for now, the concept is more symbolic than practical. Symbolic in a sense that even a working example of atomic data storage is knocking on the doors of science fiction, reports TechCrunch.

An experiment done by IBM researchers involved having a single Holmium atom change its magnetic state. This change in magnetic state can be translated into the 1s and 0s or binary code that is used to store all digital data.

“We plan to explore atoms of other elements, clusters of atoms, and small molecules as candidate magnetic bits,” Chris Lutz, one of the neuroscience researchers involved in the IBM study published in the journal Nature, said in the report.

There is still a lot of development and research to be made before the technology becomes viable for market release. Nonetheless, it’s hard not to get excited about the idea of hundreds and thousands of terabytes of digital content being packed into a device the size of a modern day USB flash drive. Alfred Bayle/JB