Good-bye Flash Storage. Hello Water-powered Ferro-electric Storage!
Drexel University has developed a novel system that uses hydroxyl ions to stabilize ferroelectric wires. In short, using water to allow the use of really really really really small electric wires. These ferroelectric wires are capable of storing around 12-13 petabytes (yes, you read it right. PETABYTES) per cubic centimeter. Science Fiction? Well, Dr. Jonathan Spanier and his collegues at Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania have develop a way of making this a reality.
All ferroelectric materials, even Spanier’s wires that are 100,000 times finer than a human hair, need to be screened to ensure their dipole moments remain stable. Traditionally this was accomplished using metallic electrodes, but Spanier and his team found that molecules such as hydroxyl(OH) ions, which make up water, and organic molecules, such as carboxyl (COOH), work even better than metal electrodes at stabilizing ferroelectricity in nano-scaled materials, proving that sometimes water and electricity do mix.
The technology still has a long way to go. A process for effectivity reading and writing data into these atom-fine wiress still needs to be deviced. Manufacturing these tightly packed ultra-fine wires will also prove to be a tough challenge ahead. A Slashdot reader even asked something to the tune of, “Can I put this device in the refrigerator?” But, this is definitely something to look forward too. A portable music player with songs good enough for 100 millenia?
