IBM Breakthrough Development

The next step towards the creation of devices that were previously only decorations in fantastic books and movies, made by scientists from IBM. Using a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope (Scanning Tunneling Microscope), which allows manipulation of individual atoms of a substance, the researchers achieved the ability to change such an atom property as magnetic anisotropy. Until now, no one has even succeeded in determining the anisotropy of a single atom, so such an achievement can have very far-reaching consequences, since it clearly shows that it is still possible to use an atom to store information (as a memory cell).

For obvious reasons, talking about any ready-made technology does not make sense yet. And all the more so far it is not a question of the commercial use of “atomic memory”. But the fact remains. Scientists have succeeded, at least in the embryo, in exploring a method that, when applied in practice, will allow the creation of completely new types of structures and devices, and can lead to a radical increase in the density of information storage. Just imagine that 30,000 movies in excellent quality or, for example, all YouTube videos, can fit on a medium the size of a deck of cards.

But that is not all. IBM researchers boast (and absolutely justified) another breakthrough in nanotechnology. This is the creation of the world's first logical key (switch) consisting of a single molecule that can function without disturbing the integrity of the external structure of the molecule. And this is already a prospect for the creation of such elements of computing technology that will be smaller, faster and more economical than those that are at the moment.

via Tgdaily