The clever Scots have created new nanotechnology that’ll cram 500,000 GB (or just under 500 terabytes) onto a single chip just one inch square.
That’s enough space to store a mind boggling 127 million songs on a device as small as an iPod shuffle.

Explaining the science behind it all, Professor Lee Cronin said: “What we have done is find a way to potentially increase the data storage capabilities in a radical way. We have been able to assemble a functional nanocluster that incorporates two electron donating groups, and position them precisely 0.32 nm apart so that they can form a totally new type of molecular switching device.

“Molecule sized switches would lead to increasing data storage to say 4 Petabits per square inch… The fact these switches work on carbon means that they could be embedded in plastic chips so silicon is not needed and the system becomes much more flexible both physically and technologically.”

There’s no word on when (or even if) the new technology will go into production, but you can bet Apple’s already eyeing it, along with armies of other tech firms. Watch this space.(Ready for a 500 terabyte iPod? | Electricpig)

If this pans out commercially, it will majorly change the IT industry and probably the energy sector as a whole. 500TB is roughly 500 hard drives at the largest capacity currently available. 500 hard drives use a lot of energy, not just to spin the platters, but also to keep data centers cool.