May 20, 2009 10:45pm Researchers at Swinburne University in Melbourne have boosted the storage of DVD 10,000-fold Australian scientists have unveiled new DVD technology that stores data in five dimensions, making it possible to pack more than 2000 movies onto a single disc. A team of researchers at the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, have used nanotechnology to boost the storage potential nearly 10,000-fold compared to standard DVDs, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature. "We were able to show how nanostructured material can be incorporated onto a disc in order to increase data capacity, without increasing the physical size of the disc,'' said Min Gu, who led the team. Discs currently have three spatial dimensions. By using gold nanorods Gu and colleagues were able to add two additional dimensions, one based on the colour spectrum, and the other on polarisation. Because nanoparticles react to light depending on their shape, it was possible to record information in a range of different colour's wavelengths at the same physical location on the disc. Related Coverage Current DVDs record in a single colour wavelength using a laser. The fifth dimension was made possible by polarisation. When light waves were projected onto the disc, the direction of the electric field within the waves aligned with the gold nanorods. "The polarisation can be rotated 360 degrees,'' explained co-author James Chon. "We were, for example, able to record at zero degree polarisation. Then on top of that, were able to record another layer of information at 90 degrees polarisation, without them interfering with each other,'' he said in a statement. The researchers are still working out the speed at which the discs can be written on, and say that commercial production is at least five years off. They have signed an agreement with Korea-based Samsung, one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers. Last month, US technology giant General Electric said its researchers had developed a holographic disc which can store the equivalent of 100 standard DVDs.
Soon you will get all hollywood and bollywood movies ever made in a 24 disc collection for a rather cheap price, courtesy of the chinese (or Indian) movie pirates. Soon it won't be worth making original dvds. Sorry Sailor, i know this is a remarkable tech, but the chances are it will be misused.
Us Aussies are sure messing up the world. Course Min Gu is a common name in Oz. Think we need to use our imagination here. These things arn't for putting 10,000 movies on. The application for this technology has to be immense particularly in the military. How about a full set of Encyclopedia Britannica on a disc to slip into your drive?
And if you were to lose that disc? Isn't it better to have several copies of your lifetime? Better to lose a few of those CDs than one of these!
Sailor , I had a quick look at this guy and although not a born Aus they've not done too bad by him. Sounds like a pretty smart man to have working for you
But can you make a disc of your lifetime? Just keep installing it so you can live again? Hmmm, interesting concept. What time of your life would you install it? 1] Baby? 2] School age? 3] High school? 4] Just before you get married? 5] About 40 with wife and kids?
