A nano-structured glass disc can store 5-dimensional digital data for billions of years, researchers at the University of Southampton said.
The digital data, inscribed on the glass with laser, has a projected shelf-life of 13.9 billion years at temperatures of 374 degrees or lower, and can store as much as 360 terabytes on a single disc.
Digital copies of important documents could now outlast the human race, the researchers said. Earlier this month, the research center produced a disc that had a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations.
![Universal Declaration of Human Rights recorded into 5D optical data (University of Southampton)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F02%2F20%2F16_23-UN_UDoHR.png_SIA_JPG_background_image-1-e1456003115525.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
“It is thrilling to think that we have created the technology to preserve documents and information and store it in space for future generations,” Peter Kazansky, said in a statement. “This technology can secure the last evidence of our civilization: all we’ve learned will not be forgotten.”
Light patterns are encoded onto the nano-structured glass, which modifies the polarization of the light. The data can be read through the use of a optical microscope and a polarizer.
Five-dimensional data was first proven possible in an experiment in 2013, with the inscription of a 300kb text document.
The technology has been recommended for the storage of libraries and entire national archives, and the researchers are looking to turn it into a commercial product.
![A nano-structured glass disk with the Holy Bible on it. (University of Southampton)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F02%2F20%2F5D-data-storage.jpg_SIA_JPG_fit_to_width_INLINE-1.jpg&w=1200&q=75)