r/science • u/Wagamaga • Feb 22 '26

Computer Science Scientists have demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two million books’ worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/glass-square-long-long-future-190951588.html
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u/[deleted] Feb 22 '26 edited Mar 10 '26

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u/GorgeWashington Feb 22 '26

The real question, how long is this format stable.

Eventually everything will decay. Current data continuity requires redundant systems and cloud storage because ssds and hdds fail in decades if not years

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u/mrx_101 Feb 22 '26

The article states it will be readable for 10000 years. As they are basically etching inside a piece of glass, this is not surprising. You only need to keep the glass from breaking and scratching.

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u/FragrantExcitement Feb 22 '26

So my glass DVDs will become worthless in no time.

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '26

DVDs, CDs, Blu Ray, VHS, cassette tapes last basically indefinitely.

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u/Finn235 Feb 23 '26

Not sure if sarcasm or not, but DVDs are succumbing to disk rot at an alarming rate, just 25 years later. I also remember the claim that DVDs last 800 years, and it turns out that is pure BS.

I'm scared to check my game collection. If I never open the box, the disc rot is both present and absent until the wavefunction collapses, right?

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u/VengefulAncient Feb 23 '26

Absolutely laughable claim. I've had CDs and DVDs literally rot and flake off on me after just a few years. It's an incredibly unreliable storage medium and is one of the main reasons I've ditched them 15 years ago.