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Coming Soon, 250 DVDs In a Quarter-Sized Device

Posted by kdawson on from the video-library-in-your-pocket dept.

Several readers have remarked on a new technique developed by scientists at UC Berkeley and University of Massachusetts Amherst that has the promise of achieving storage densities of 10 terabits per square inch. "The method lets microscopic nanoscale elements precisely assemble themselves over large surfaces. ... Xu explained that the molecules in the thin film of block copolymers — two or more chemically dissimilar polymer chains linked together — self-assemble into an extremely precise, equidistant pattern when spread out on a surface... Russell and Xu conceived of the elegantly simple solution of layering the film of block copolymers onto the surface of a commercially available sapphire crystal. When the crystal is cut at an angle... and heated to 1,300 to 1,500 degrees Centigrade... for 24 hours, its surface reorganizes into a highly ordered pattern of sawtooth ridges that can then be used to guide the self-assembly of the block polymers."

8 of 209 comments (clear)

  1. DVDs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Who cares how many DVDs? How many Libraries of Congress is it, that's what I want to know.

    1. Re:DVDs by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Funny

      I wonder how long it stays readable though, before it succumbs to some kind of rot.

      I imagine the future after mankind has passed away, where some alien race stumbles upon one of these libraries with the collective wisdom of humanity preserved on it, and upon trying to make sense of the contents, instead see a message: "We cannot verify you rights to access this material; the DRM server that can validate your license appears to be down. Please try again later".

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    2. Re:DVDs by davester666 · · Score: 4, Funny

      The size of the LOC is constantly changing. You need to specify the date/time to be used to determine the size of the LOC before you can do the conversion.

      Sure, you can use the default of 'right now', but if everybody does this, it makes comparisons useless, as everybodies 'LOC' constant is different.

      We must push for an international standard for the amount of data in a single 'Library of Congress'.

      Once this is done, we can discuss whether we should enforce this value on the real Library of Congress, so it's contents match the size of the international standard.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  2. real vs. vaporware by rubycodez · · Score: 5, Funny

    my mini-van full of 9-track can hold 3 TB, and is real. don't bother me with this vaporware speculation!

  3. Let me explain it in slashdot terms by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 4, Funny

    They mean "soon" as in the sentence "you will be having sex soon".

    == never

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

  4. Re:Nice, hopefully coming soon by reashlin · · Score: 4, Funny

    > This seems like it has some potential. Yup, it'll be good for storing your router logs http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/09/02/20/131224.shtml?from=rss [slashdot.org]

  5. Re:How many Humans? by PalmHair · · Score: 4, Funny

    Does 1 KLOC = 1024 or 1000 LOCs? Also, how does that translate to metric units - GBs. (GB - Gutenberg Library)

  6. Re:A horse in my wallet. by Your+Pal+Dave · · Score: 4, Funny

    A horse in my wallet, now and today, that is what impresses me, really.

    I dunno, any horse manages to keep a copy in the nucleus of each of its cells.