Anyone who has used computers or any other device that stores data has run into the problem of disc failure that leads to lose of data. It is the reason we make – or should – backups in case the main storage goes down. You just have to hope that the backup also doesn’t fail.
Over at the Southampton University in the UK they are working on a system that may make it a thing of the past. Utilising lasers and quartz crystal, they have developed a means of storing up to 360 terrabytes on a small disc for a very long time – 13.8 billion years by their estimates. Not exactly a short amount of time.
It is not yet available for commercial use but it will certainly come in handy if and when it does.
Mist and Shadows 