Computerworld: IBM is reporting a major research breakthrough–the discovery of a way to store a bit of information with just 12 atoms. Until now, it required about one million atoms to store a bit of data. The researchers used antiferromagnetism, magnetism based on the spin of atoms, to create storage media that is about 100 times denser than that commonly used today. “Looking at this conservatively … instead of 1TB on a device you’d have 100TB to 150TB. Instead of being able to store all your songs on a drive, you’d be able to have all your videos on the device,” explained IBM’s Andreas Heinrich.
It will likely take five to ten years to develop a product based on the new technology.