Next-Gen Optical Disc Can Store Over 14,000 4k Movies
In a significant development, Scientists at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology have developed a new “3D nanoscale optical disc”. According to a report by Charles Q. Choi in IEEE Spectrum, it is the same size and shape as a DVD or Blu-ray disc, however, it can hold an astounding 1.6 petabits of data. It’s approximately 200,000 GB or roughly the amount of space that 14,285 2-hour long, 4K movies would require, presuming each movie of 14 GB in size. These findings have been published in the journal Nature. However, the question arises whether this new technology will find its way into our homes despite the rapidly decreasing interest in disc-based movies.
DVD-Like Optical Disc Can store Thousands of 4k Movies
The secret to the new optical disc’s capacity is its 3D storage system. It uses 100 layers instead of writing data on a single one. The particular “spots” of data are also quite smaller than on conventional Blu-rays or DVDs. Choi stated:
“The data is recorded using spots as small as 54 nanometers wide, roughly a tenth of the size of the wavelengths of visible light used to read and write the data,”
The team made this new recording technique possible through the use of dual data-writing lasers and a newly developed light-sensitive material called AIE-DDPR. Now let’s jump to the most remarkable part. According to the scientists, a single new blank disc can be manufactured using conventional DVD mass production techniques within six minutes. Wait what? Yes, you heard right?
It has the potential as a physical format for 8K movies. It is a real deal for the data centers. Any data center can hold an exabit of information inside of a single room by using nanoscale optical discs. It can hold an amount of data that currently requires a space the size of a stadium.
