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Researchers Store Optical Data In Five Dimensions

Posted by timothy on from the don't-forget-time dept.

Al writes "Researchers from Swinburne University of Technology in Victoria, Australia, have developed an optical material capable of storing information in five dimensions. Using three wavelengths and two polarizations of light, the Australian researchers were able to write six different patterns within the same area. The material is made up of layers of gold nanorods suspended in clear plastic that has been spun flat onto a glass substrate and multiple data patterns can be written and read within the same area in the material without interference. The team achieved a storage density of 1.1 terabytes per cubic centimeter by writing data to stacks of 10 nanorod layers."

19 of 239 comments (clear)

  1. And.. by MyLongNickName · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... if you add a sixth dimension (time), you can store a near-infinite amount of information!

    Retrieval is a bitch though.

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    1. Re:And.. by Burning1 · · Score: 4, Funny

      My 6th dimensional storage device is /dev/null in order to retrieve the data, all you have to do is go back to the exact moment in time that it was written.

    2. Re:And.. by fireman+sam · · Score: 5, Funny

      I use the MD5 compression algorithm to store my data. I still haven't found a good MD5 decompressor yet.

      --
      it is only after a long journey that you know the strength of the horse.
  2. 5 dimensions? by ionix5891 · · Score: 4, Funny

    x,y,z,strange and charmed?

    1. Re:5 dimensions? by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 2, Funny

      More likely x, y, z, ana/kata, and Chuck Norris

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    2. Re:5 dimensions? by thhamm · · Score: 2, Funny

      that's more than 5. chuck alone has 11 dimensions!

    3. Re:5 dimensions? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      There are 12 Dimensions of Creation

      But yes, Chuck Norris is 11 of them. I think the 12th is the one created by the chair Ballmer threw.

      There, I made my /. references for the day. Back to non-productive activity at work.

    4. Re:5 dimensions? by RulerOf · · Score: 4, Funny

      No no no, only string theory has 11 dimensions.

      Chuck has as many dimensions as he pleases, and Chuck is not a theory; Chuck is real. And unlike string theory, he will kill you.

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

      You killed my father! Prepare to die.

  3. What else has gold, glass and plastic? by rsborg · · Score: 4, Funny
    ... and puts me in another dimension?

    Goldschläger!

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  4. Storage in the Fifth Dimension... by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...can it be the Age of Aquarius?

  5. Ooohhh! Snap!! by gizmo2199 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah! take that Sony. They not only have blue ray, they have blue, yellow and green ray.

    It's a color laser light-show smackdown!.

    Boo-Yeah!!!

    --
    This Sig does not Exist.
  6. Re:Five dimensional in the same way... by sexconker · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh please, it's as if I said a byte is an 8-dimensional bit.

  7. The hardest part by idontgno · · Score: 5, Funny

    is engineering a read/write head which is bent at 90 degrees to reality in two distinct and orthogonal directions.

    The downside is that a head crash would threaten the integrity of the space-time continuum worse than a Large Hadron Collider mishap and two Star Trek: Voyager episodes all occurring at the same time.

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    1. Re:The hardest part by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Funny

      Christ. I mean, having to sit through one episode of ST:V makes me want to destroy the space time continuum. (Yatta!)

      --
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  8. Uh, no... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I have a hard enough time keeping track of my data to have it go time traveling and wandering around the universe like an old TARDIS.

  9. Flux Capacitor can't be far, can it... by rootrot · · Score: 4, Funny

    1.1TB thanks to optical storage in 5 dimensions...3 more and we'll be driving cars through mountains. I can't wait. I just hope the researchers behind this work realize that no mater where they go, there they are.

    1. Re:Flux Capacitor can't be far, can it... by cashman73 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Thanks to this invention, geeks of the future will need a flux capacitor just to view their porn collections! Suddenly, Doc Brown's odd pronunciation of, "1.1 Gigawatts", makes a lot more sense!

  10. Re:Yawn. by Red+Flayer · · Score: 3, Funny

    I wonder if this will ever lead to anything practical besides a geekgasm at the idea of a 1cm^2 TB thumbdrive.

    FWIW, I would definitely have a geekgasm at a 1 cm^2 TB thumbdrive.

    Think about, that's infinite storage in a 1 cm^3 bay of thumbdrives.

    Finally, a hand-held (well, desktop when you consider usage) storage device able to store all the porn ever created in the past OR future.

    --
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