Today’s Spotlight uses a graphic, by Christine Daniloff/MIT News, based on an image supplied by the researchers. The new molecules are known as ‘graphene fragments,’ because they largely consist of flat sheets of carbon (which are attached to zinc atoms). That makes them easier to align during deposition, which could simplify the manufacture of molecular memories.
Moore’s law — the well‑known doubling of computer chips’ computational power every 18 months or so — has been paced by a similarly steady increase in the storage capacity of disk drives. In 1980, a hard drive could store about a half‑megabyte of data in a square inch of disk space; now, manufacturers are closing in on a million megabytes of data per square inch.
An experimental technology called molecular memory, which would store data in individual molecules, promises another 1,000‑fold increase in storage density.
Read full article.
Moore’s law — the well‑known doubling of computer chips’ computational power every 18 months or so — has been paced by a similarly steady increase in the storage capacity of disk drives. In 1980, a hard drive could store about a half‑megabyte of data in a square inch of disk space; now, manufacturers are closing in on a million megabytes of data per square inch.
An experimental technology called molecular memory, which would store data in individual molecules, promises another 1,000‑fold increase in storage density.
Read full article.