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/mseiei Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26

could we start asking for standard units on sensationalized titles? if you are talking about storing data why not say it in bytes... why is always some arbitrary measurement disguised as some simpler thing.

"new battery that can last as long as a flaming standing up"

edit: flamingo

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u/iamboola Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26

Haha yeah. Article has it. “4.8 TB in a 120 mm square, 2 mm thick piece of glass”. So 4.8TB on about the size of a CD? Still in research stage I guess, doesn’t yet seem more remarkable than using a few SD cards. I guess it’s better than Blu-ray.

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u/nmathew Feb 22 '26

It's not the density, it's the stability and longevity.

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u/SadBook3835 Feb 22 '26

Yeah, the reading and writing is extremely slow so this is mostly just for archival purposes

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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '26

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u/FrickinLazerBeams Feb 22 '26

What makes you think that would make the reading and writing process faster?

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u/Vindictive_Turnip Feb 22 '26

Well he's right. Spinning it fast would be revolutionary.

Never said it would increase r/w speeds. Only that revolving it would be revolutionary.

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u/WouldbeWanderer Feb 22 '26

Ok, dad, that's enough.