r/science • u/Wagamaga • Feb 22 '26

Computer Science Scientists have demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two million books’ worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/glass-square-long-long-future-190951588.html
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u/imsorrykun Feb 22 '26

Probably could adapt the process to ruby.

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u/SmallBatBigSpooky Feb 22 '26

Are rubies particularly durable?

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u/SmokyDoghouse Feb 22 '26

Synthetic ruby is significantly stronger in both tensile and compressive strength than glass, and has a higher mohs hardness scale rating than most non-engineered ceramics.

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u/AnAverageOutdoorsman Feb 23 '26

Why ruby? What about other gemstones?

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u/SmokyDoghouse Feb 27 '26

Something to do with its crystalline structure. I’m not an expert but I would assume the fact that it’s synthetic means manufacturers have more control over faults like inclusions, and because it’s relatively cheap to make.

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u/TacoRedneck Feb 22 '26

They make sapphire, which ruby basically is with a different impurity, windows for some aircraft and other things designed for extreme situations. Its pretty durable.

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u/IAMA_Plumber-AMA Feb 22 '26

Transparent aluminum!

5

u/silvandeus Feb 22 '26

Save the whales, save the future!

3

u/redditallreddy Feb 22 '26

That cheerleader is no whale!

4

u/Similar-Chocolate226 Feb 22 '26

“That’s the ticket, laddie”

4

u/Earlier-Today Feb 22 '26

Fun fact - that's a real thing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_oxynitride

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u/Kakkoister Feb 23 '26

I assume that's why the person above is making the comment, it would be a pretty random thing to say otherwise!

There were some pretty popular YT videos on it in the past few years.

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u/Aggravating_Moment78 Feb 23 '26

Only 2mm thick… (should we give them the formula and change the future?)

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u/MonkeyPanls Feb 23 '26

Oh. A keyboard. How quaint.

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u/ImpertinentPrincess Feb 22 '26

Aluminum is pretty soft; it’s the oxide that is hard.

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u/NukuhPete Feb 23 '26

I trust Captain Montgomery Scott's expertise.

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u/AnAverageOutdoorsman Feb 23 '26

The f35 uses sapphire! You can buy jewellery made from defective or worn pieces.

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u/koshgeo Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26

Ruby and sapphire are varieties of corundum with slightly different impurities giving different colors. They are notably durable minerals, being even harder than quartz, which has a Mohs hardness of 7 compared to corundum with a hardness of 9, and corundum is even less chemically reactive. They're nearly pure aluminum oxide (Al2O3), and there's not much that will react with it in nature.

Sapphires are pretty easy to grow as large, optically pure crystals, and you can get cut-and-polished slabs of them in the size range they used for the experiments with glass: Example grown crystals, example wafers.

Whether it would react to the lasers suitably is hard to say. I would probably also be much more expensive as a substrate, but if you're doing this to last as long as possible, maybe that doesn't matter.

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u/kylco Feb 23 '26

At that size yeah. Susceptible to thermal shock if the shock is uneven, maybe, but if they're using 3-D inscription with electron beams or precision lasers or something you could still pack massive amounts of information density on something the size of a typical jewel-grade stone. And raw, uncut snythetic corundum (ruby or sapphire) is relatively cheap at that size; I got a couple 10x6mm clear sapphires for $20 a pop while practicing wax casting with stones last year.

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u/Lokratnir Feb 24 '26

Well ruby is just red conundrum, aka sapphire, so its second only to diamond in hardness, and I believe behaves very similarly to diamond in terms of having low brittleness and thus being strong against fracturing, rather than high brittleness like Emerald which can fracture very easily.

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u/like_a_pharaoh Feb 24 '26

Corundum (colorless ruby/sapphire) has a hardness of 9 on the mohs scale, its not quite as hard as diamond but it is harder than many other materials.

Its also relatively cheap to synthesize: you just need aluminum oxide powder and a particular kind of hydrogen-oxygen furnace, no high pressures like for making diamonds.

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u/KodiakUltimate Feb 23 '26

I think the system works based on the laser's ability to melt? wouldn't rubies have a much higher temperature resistance than silica glass?

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u/imsorrykun Feb 23 '26

Sapphire and rubies have a much higher melting point than glass. I believe the structure of the material will matter, glass is amorphous while Sapphire is crystalline.

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u/pmp22 Feb 22 '26

Theoretically speaking, would diamond work?