Despite the popularity of USB devices, external drives and the cloud, the old optical disk is regaining its relevance as a viable option to store large amounts of data.
Researchers at Shanghai University of Science and Technology have been developing a drive capable of storing more than 14,000 movies in 4K quality.
This device represents the future of storage, using a nanoscale 3D technique. According to a report by Computer Today, it has a storage capacity of 1.6 petabits, which is equivalent to around 200,000 GB or about 14,285 two-hour movies in 4K quality.
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Although it is similar in size to traditional DVD or Blu-ray discs, this new disc offers unprecedented storage capacity thanks to its layered storage method. While conventional discs have a single layer, this disc uses hundreds of layers to increase its capacity.
The operation is based on a 3D storage system, where each data point is only 54 nanometers wide, one tenth the size of the wavelengths of visible light.
Although this capacity may seem excessive to the average user, scientists point out that this advance could have a significant impact in data centers, where massive data storage is required.