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Nickel Sensors Could Raise Hard Disk Capacity

Posted by timothy on from the why-if-i-had-a-nickel-microsensor-for-every dept.

Makarand writes "Tiny filaments of nickel, thinner than a wavelength of visible light, acting as magnetic sensors may expand the storage capacity of hard disks many times. Although, technologies exist to increase hard disk capacity, reading data bits reliably from such disks has proven difficult because as data bits become smaller their magnetic fields are weaker and difficult to pick up. Nickel filaments are capable of picking up of these weak magnetic fields using a phenomenon called "ballistic magnetoresistance" which is not completely understood. As the sensors are only a few atoms wide the electrons travel along a straight line in the conductor greatly enhancing the binary signal picked up from the data bits. These sensors could also be used to detect biomolecules in low concentrations."

9 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. Bloody hell. by caluml · · Score: 3, Funny

    Tiny filaments of nickel, thinner than a wavelength of visible light,

    Is it just me or are we getting too clever? :)
    Soon we'll be storing gigabytes on a single atom...

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  2. Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Tiny filaments of nickel, thinner than a wavelength of visible light

    Then how do we know they're there?

  3. Ballistic? by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 3, Funny

    I dunno... First we had giant magnetoresistance, then colossal magnetoresistance... Ballistic just doesn't seem to fit. We should call it gargantuan magnetoresistance, or Herculean... I know! Let's call it "humongous magnetoresistance"!

    1. Re:Ballistic? by modecx · · Score: 3, Funny

      Our platters have gone plaid!

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  4. New HD technology! by apoc.famine · · Score: 4, Funny

    If I had a nickel for every time...

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  5. Of course by mccalli · · Score: 3, Funny
    The more nickels you apply, the higher capacity hard drive you will get.

    Phhh. I knew that and I'm not even American...

    Cheers,
    Ian

  6. Cool.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    "ballistic magnetoresistance"

    Last time a drive failed on me, I made it go ballistic too, and it offered little resistance (however the concrete offered considerable resistance). Is this a similar thing?

  7. Re:Is it wise ? by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Funny
    To store critical (or any data of some value ie: not junk) data on technology that is so vunurable to external forces if the technology is so small/fragile ?

    There was a brief time a few decades ago when the essence of my entire being was contained in a single molecule, with no backups! Luckily, I made it through that episode relatively unscathed.

    Ever since then, I've been making backups like crazy.

  8. Re:Is it wise ? by shogun · · Score: 4, Funny

    There was a brief time a few decades ago when the essence of my entire being was contained in a single molecule, with no backups! Luckily, I made it through that episode relatively unscathed.
    Ever since then, I've been making backups like crazy.

    I'm yet to make any fully redundant backups myself as opposed to your incremental ones, however I fear there may have %50 data loss in any such backups and the data space will have to be shared with someone elses.