Digital image stored in single molecule

December 2, 2002 | Source: New York Times

University of Oklahoma researchers have found a way to store 1024 bits of information in 19 hydrogen atoms in a single liquid-crystal molecule. The data are stored in the interactions of the protons’ magnetic moments, activated by firing an electromagnetic pulse containing 1024 different radio frequencies (each with amplitude modulation on or off) at the molecule.

Researcher Bing Fung hopes the “molecular photography” technique could one day be used to pack massive amounts of digital information into a tiny space.

News tip: Walter Purvis