Gold Nanotubes Boost DVD Storage

Australia researchers have unveiled a new type of disc that stores 10,000 times more data than current DVDs and could be on the market within a decade. The discs store 1.6 terabytes of data, eclipsing the capacity of current DVD and Blu-ray discs which hold up to 50 gigabytes. The researchers, from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, have published their breakthrough in the journal Nature. A standard DVD recorder uses light of a single wavelength to ‘burn’ data onto the surface of the disc. The team at Swinburne found that by adding gold nanorods to the disc they were able to increase its capacity. The nanorods react to light according to their shape. This allowed the researchers to record information using light of different wavelengths, or colours, on the same location on the disc