IBM researchers take storage down to the atomic level

Christopher Lutz, nanoscience researcher at IBM Research - Almaden in San Jose, Calif. using the IBM-invented, Nobel-prize winning microscope to store data on the world's smallest magnet, a single atom of holmium, a rare earth element. (Stan Olszewski/IBM Research/TNS)

Sometime in the future, you might be able to carry around hundreds of terabytes of data – enough to hold the entire iTunes music catalogue – on a device the size of credit card, thanks to a new research breakthrough from IBM's Almaden research lab in San Jose, California. 

IBM researchers have demonstrated the ability to store a bit of data on a single atom, the company announced recently. By contrast, current hard drives require about 100,000 atoms for every bit they store.