Holographic Storage

At the beginning of the semester we watched clips from A Space Odyssey. You probably remember that in the film, the astronaut disconnects the HAL 9000’s memory. Recent technology has made it possible that by May this year, users will be able to buy real holographic storage. This type of technology ensures high density with no media flaws. According to the article holographic storage has a couple properties that make it stand out,” 1. A small fragment of a hologram can reconstruct the entire data image. The fragment won’t let you move as far around the image, but for 2D images, like a photograph, it means a scratch isn’t fatal. 2. Data density is theoretically unlimited. By varying the angle between the reference and illumination beams - or the angle of the media - hundreds of holograms can be stored in the same physical area.” This news is great because scientists have been working on how to create holographic storage such as this for years. However, the product is expected to cost about $18,000. The article compares this new product to IBM’s RAMAC disc in the 1950’s. It just goes to show how much seemingly unrealistic technological advances can become a reality.
Cassandra Wilson T.A.-Sanders