Literally. Researchers at the University of Southampton's Optical Research Center announced on Tuesday that they've perfected a technique that can record data in 5 dimensions and keep it safe for billions of years. The method etches data into a thermally stable disc using femtosecond laser bursts. The storage medium itself holds up to 360 TB per disc, can withstand temperatures up to 1000 degrees C and are estimated to last up to 13.8 billion years at room temperature without degrading. http://www.engadget.com/2016/02/16/5d-discs-can-store-data-until-well-after-the-sun-burns-out/
ONLY 5D? I didn't know that materials existed that responded to femtosecond laser bursts, much less onto something so durable. At what laser frequency? How long does it take to write a petabyte of holographic data? This really does sound like a storage technology too good to be true. If every thought I ever had, or image I ever viewed, or sound I ever heard, or sensation I ever felt were recorded in one of these, would anyone care or even have the time to actually view or experience those again? Would it even be worthwhile for someone other than myself to do that?
You didn't know... Well, maybe start here : http://www.orc.soton.ac.uk/fileadmi..._Ultrafast_Laser_Nanostructuring_in_Glass.pdf
I don't like the use of "5D" here, but I do like the discs. Long term data storage has been a challenge and this looks like a good solution.
