Quartz May Be Used to Store Memory for Millions of Years

British scientists say they have discovered a method for storing and retrieving huge amounts of digital data that could last for over a million years.

Using extremely short and intense pulses of laser light, researchers at the University of Southampton assembled structures in fused quartz glass that can withstand temperatures up to 1000 degrees Celsius.

Scientists say the new method opens the possibility of creating memory discs with an unprecedented memory capacity of up to 360 terabytes, with an almost unlimited lifetime.