Small means big things in storage
Small means big things in storage
Feb 23, 2005: Researchers at Boston University have created a new data switch, which they claim is much faster, better and capable of storing more information than those that are currently used at the moment.
According to sci-tech-today.com, the new silicon switches are thousands of times smaller than a human hair, but can retrieve data at megahertz and gigahertz ranges.
Pritiraj Mohanty, one of the Boston University physicists responsible for creating this technology said: "By looking at the old technology, we have produced memory cells that are faster and better than those currently used.
"This mechanical device is a completely new approach to improving data storage. It can read and write 1,000 to 100,000 times faster than the current speed. With these nanomechanical chips, a video editor could load a two-minute high-resolution film instantaneously."
At present, laptops have switches that move only thousands of cycles per second, or a few hundred kilohertz.
These new switches are smaller, so they can be packed more densely into hard drives, meaning that they could read billions of cycles per second.
The main purpose of creating a new switch is to improve the robustness and durability of computers.
Robert Badzey, the research team leader said: "Not only can these mechanical switches withstand radiation disturbances, like solar flares, they also are tough enough to work even after being dropped."
The researchers believe that the new technology could be commercialised very quickly.
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