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IBM Demos Single-Atom DRAM
An anonymous reader writes "A single-atom DRAM was demonstrated by IBM recently with a slow-mo movie of the atomic process of setting and erasing a bit on a single atom. Videos of atomic processes inside chips were not possible until now, leading to IBM's claim that its pulsed-STM (used to make the movie) will lead to a new atomic-scale semiconductor industry, and not just for memory chips, according to this EETimes story: 'The ultimate memory chips of the future will encode bits on individual atoms, a capability recently demonstrated for iron atoms by IBM's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, Calif., which unveiled a new pulsed technique for scanning tunneling microscopes (STMs). Pulsed-STMs yield nanosecond time-resolution, a requirement for designing the atomic-scale memory chips, solar panels and quantum computers of the future, but also for making super efficient organic solar cells by controlling photovoltaic reactions on the atomic level.'"
Call me when the sense hardware is only an atom per bit.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
While I share your concern to a certain extent, the great thing here is we can "perfect" data density... at least to the atomic scale. With more research and/or data we'll know/learn the reliability and plan accordingly. Want data that you can trust to be right for 1000 years with 99.999998% certainty? Use solution X! Want data to be right for 1 year with 99.5% certainty? Use solution Y!
Can't wait for a 1 PB "harddrive" which looks like a grain of sand!
"This should be fun, and by fun, I mean a wholly depressing insight into the cognitive ability of some grown adults."
Even if is a solution searching for a problem, still worth. Who knows, maybe could be used in space (satellites, space probes, etc), maybe the next best place for datacenters is in orbit. Or be ready till some other advancements turn them into something practical.