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Graphene Could Make Magnetic Memory 1000x Denser
KentuckyFC writes "The density of magnetic memory depends on the size of the magnetic domains used to store bits. The current state-of-the-art uses cobalt-based grains some 8nm across, each containing about 50,000 atoms. Materials scientists think they can shrink the grains to 15,000 atoms but any smaller than that and the crystal structure of the grains is lost. That's a problem because the cobalt has to be arranged in a hexagonal close packing structure to ensure the stability of its magnetic field. Otherwise the field can spontaneously reverse and the data is lost. Now a group of German physicists say they can trick a pair of cobalt atoms into thinking they are in a hexagonal close packing structure by bonding them to a hexagonal carbon ring such as graphene or benzene. That's handy because the magnetic field associated with cobalt dimers is calculated to be far more stable than the field in a cobalt grain. And graphene and benzene rings are only 0.5 nm across, a size that could allow an increase in memory density of three orders of magnitude."
Sweet, more room for p0rn. I mean, more room to store my philosophical musings about the world we live in...
-- I'm just not sure he knew exactly how that would come out to be true!
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
If only I could trick my pr0n collection into thinking (there's so much of it it's become self-aware) it's in a hexagonal close packing structure, I could archive onto 3½" floppies :-)
If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
It's already a challenge to fill a 60GB MP3 player with MP3s. I have 9TB of disks on the network at home, and it's less than half full, even with all of our CDs and DVDs ripped onto the server - and of the 9TB, we use 6TB as double backup of the 3TB primary storage.
What's a person to do when disk capacities increase by another 3 orders of magnitude?
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Let me guess. They're going to stick this stuff to a platter and spin it past some sort of electromagnet. I want terabyte USB thumb drives, not yet another mechanical storage device.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
German physicists say they can trick a pair of cobalt atoms into thinking they are in a hexagonal close packing structure by bonding them to a hexagonal carbon ring such as graphene or benzene
I have a friend who was tricked into thinking he was a hexagonal close packing structure after spending a bit too much time around benzene.
which is totally what she said
Does this mean my walkman will hold 45,000 minutes of music? take that iPod!
....a size that could allow an increase in memory density of three orders of magnitude."
So that is good, yes?
NO SIG
say they can trick a pair of cobalt atoms into thinking they are in a hexagonal close packing structure by bonding them to a hexagonal carbon ring such as graphene or benzene.
the cobalt has to be arranged in a hexagonal close packing structure to ensure the stability of its magnetic field. Otherwise the field can spontaneously reverse and the data is lost.
So one day the atoms might just realize that they've been tricked and you'll end up with your computer on fire because your benzene chains have all broken and you end up with 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene
"i lost my dignity on a slippery wiener"
I trhed an e"rlx be|a tast.( Uhe res7ltw w%ren/t so pretpyn
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Sweet, more room for p0rn. I mean, more room to store my philosophical musings about the world we live in...
And the difference is what again?
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Well this is all fine and dandy for storage space, but what about performance? Drives are getting bigger all the time, but you're still stuck with spindles that rotate at the same speeds as the ones from last year, or the year before. I can't see anyone wanting to replace their speedy many-spindle database disk farm with a single 320TB disk that still spins at 10Krpm and only delivers ~125 IOPS. Performance is going to suck big time. All the top TPS benchmark results for example are achieved using 1000's of disks to max out the IO speed and make the database fly.
bullshit is chemistry, straight from a bovine chemical factory.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Graphene also has great potential for transistors. Graphene has insanely high electron and hole mobility characteristics, making it ideal for these devices. Devices of both types (n and p) have been fabricated in the lab: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene#Integrated_circuits
OK, what am I missing here? 0.5nm is 16 times smaller than 8nm. On a 2D platter, that's 256 times more dense, not 1000 times more dense.
-S
--- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
Before I can get excited, I need to know when this is proven experimentally. The FTA refers to a calculation. There are lots of possible things that are achieved with a calculation, but translating it in practice is a totally different matter. BTW, I am an experimentalist nanoscientist (working on graphene, actually), part of my daily job is to prove that computational results can be achieved in reality.
isnt benzene a carcinogen?
Benzene
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
- specmanship
No thank you, that hard disk is morally defect!
1000x Denser ???
... 50,000 atoms ... to 15,000 atoms... 8nm across ... only 0.5nm across... could allow an increase in memory density of three orders of magnitude
three orders of magnitude? what kind of math is this???
The only question now is whether this team's calculations hold true in the real world.
I would like to see that calculation!
"Don't let fools fool you. They are the clever ones."
This may be the breakthrough, though, that allows for the type of density that would be required for a human-analog type AI to be a reality.(currently it would take a small building to approximate a typical human brain)
Graphene is extremely expensive and benzene is very cheap.
It sounds as if they argue whether to use diamonds or wood for their project.
It is believed that the current method of producing magnetic memory cells will reach a hard limit of ~15,000 cobalt atoms.
This article is about a totally new method of making memory cells, which only requires two cobalt atoms bonded to a graphene/benzene ring.
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
The news should read "Thinking cobalt detected for the first time in history".
In a smaller space! Hooray!
...boy are those cobalt atoms gonna be pissed off once they realize they've been tricked. I wouldn't want to be someone's data around them when that happens.
Imagination is more important than knowledge -Einstien
Hey, isn't Benzene on the RoHS 'nasty stuff' list?
If so, I'm surprised it's being looked at as a component of a potentially mass-marketed technology.
"You can't really dust for vomit" --Nigel Tufnel