{"id":240713,"date":"2025-02-17T12:26:19","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T12:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/17\/high-speed-lasers-write-data-to-last-millennia-inside-glass\/"},"modified":"2025-02-17T12:26:19","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T12:26:19","slug":"high-speed-lasers-write-data-to-last-millennia-inside-glass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/17\/high-speed-lasers-write-data-to-last-millennia-inside-glass\/","title":{"rendered":"High-speed lasers write data \u2014 to last millennia \u2014 inside glass"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module-sm@2x.png?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"High-speed lasers write data \u2014 to last millennia \u2014 inside glass\" title=\"High-speed lasers write data \u2014 to last millennia \u2014 inside glass\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"video-embed\">\n<aside class=\"sn-conversion rich-text alignright\"\/>\n<p>A robot whirs along a library shelf. Instead of books, this shelf holds napkin-sized squares of flat, clear glass. The robot selects a piece of glass and brings it over to a microscope. The instrument peers deep inside the glass. A speckly pattern, invisible to the naked eye, now comes into focus. A high-speed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/explainer-what-laser\">laser<\/a> etched this pattern. And a computer can now read the digital information stored within it.<\/p>\n<p>Each piece of glass is like a book after all \u2014 a very futuristic one. Each slim plate can hold 7 terabytes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/scientists-say-data\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"5385\">data<\/a>. That\u2019s as much information as two million books typically hold today.<\/p>\n<p>The library, robot, laser, microscope and platters of glass are all part of a research program named Project Silica. Richard Black directs this project at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, England. \u201cProject Silica is a new approach to storing data,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>The latest computer hard drives easily hold terabytes worth of data. But those drives last only around three to five years. In fact, all of today\u2019s common methods of storing digital data tend to wear out quickly, Black notes. \u201cEvery few years, you\u2019ve got to buy a new [storage medium] and copy.\u201d And then, over and over again, \u201cbuy and copy, and buy and copy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The speckly data inside the glass, though, can last for \u201cthousands of years,\u201d Black says, or perhaps even longer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a very neat and clever idea,\u201d says Deep Jariwala, who did not take part in this project. An electrical engineer, he works at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n<p>Glass is actually quite durable. These platters can withstand all sorts of calamities. \u201cYou could leave [the glass platter] in boiling water,\u201d says Black. \u201cYou can put it in the oven. You can microwave it.\u201d You could even scratch the surface without marring the data inside it.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p><div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"-rfEYd4NGQg\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Storing data for thousands of years | Microsoft Project Silica\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-rfEYd4NGQg?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">How can you safely store data for thousands of years? Project Silica uses high-speed lasers to make tiny changes inside a piece of clear glass. Those changes \u201care as durable as the glass itself,\u201d says Richard Black.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Or you could jettison the glass platter into space, carrying a message to aliens. That\u2019s exactly what an international team of high-school students plans to do. I<a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/podcast\/collaborators-silica-in-space-with-richard-black-and-dexter-greene\/\" rel=\"noopener\">n a podcast last fall, Microsoft Research announced its support for this project<\/a>, called <a href=\"https:\/\/research.avenues.org\/goldenrecord\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Golden Record 2.0<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to write inside glass<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s fun to think about talking to aliens,\u201d says Jon Lomberg. He\u2019s an artist based in Kona, Hawaii. But those glass platters may soon have important uses here on Earth. People create and use a staggering amount of information. There are medical data, scientific experiments, banking records, Hollywood movies and so much more.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"wp-block-sciencenews-inline-related-post alignleft\">\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/explainer-understanding-size-data\">Explainer: Understanding the size of data<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/aside>\n<p>A lot of this information \u201cneeds to be kept for a long time period,\u201d Black said in the podcast. \u201cThere\u2019s huge quantities of it. And it\u2019s pouring in every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Back in 2014, researchers at the University of Southampton, England, used lasers to <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.aps.org\/prl\/abstract\/10.1103\/PhysRevLett.112.033901\" rel=\"noopener\">record data inside glass for the first time<\/a>. At the time, \u201cwe were very happy,\u201d says Jingyu Zhang, who was part of that team. He\u2019s now a physicist at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China.<\/p>\n<section class=\"newsletter-signup__wrapper___lZ0W1 wp-block-house-ads wp-block-newsletter-signup\">\n<picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module@1x.png 1x,&#10;&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module@2x.png 2x\" media=\"(min-width: 768px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module-sm@1x.png 1x,&#10;&#9;&#9;&#9;&#9;https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module-sm@2x.png 2x\"><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<div class=\"newsletter-signup__container___srNOL\" data-component=\"newsletter-signup\">\n<h3 class=\"newsletter-signup__heading___0EHmb\">\n\t\t\tEducators and Parents, Sign Up for The Cheat Sheet\t\t<\/h3>\n<div class=\"newsletter-signup__message___pemaq\">\n<p>Weekly updates to help you use <em>Science News Explores<\/em> in the learning environment<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"newsletter-signup__thankyou___K6GGN\">Thank you for signing up!<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-signup__error___hCsJI\">There was a problem signing you up.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>The laser pulses are so rapid that they are measured in femtoseconds. One femtosecond is one-thousandth of one-millionth of one-millionth of a second, Black explains. Taking even a small amount of energy and focusing it on a tiny point for such a teensy amount of time has surprising results. \u201cThe intensity at that point is just so mind-bogglingly high,\u201d he says. \u201cYou get something called a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/scientists-say-plasma\">plasma<\/a> nano explosion.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"wp-block-sciencenews-inline-related-post alignleft\">\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/explainer-what-laser\">Explainer: What is a laser?<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/aside>\n<p>This explosion creates a very tiny divot in the structure of the glass. Engineers call it a voxel.<\/p>\n<p>Voxel formation is predictable. Whenever you fire the laser the same way, the voxel forms the same way, Zhang explains. So different types of voxels can act like 1s and 0s to represent digital data. These voxels also can be layered on top of each other inside a sheet of glass. When you want to read the data, you use a microscope. It focuses on a small area of just one layer inside the glass. A camera records the pattern of voxels there.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p><div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"5OYQafF-N0I\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Project Silica Library 2022\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5OYQafF-N0I?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Here\u2019s a library of data written on glass platters. \u201cThere\u2019s no cost to just keeping [a platter] around in\u00a0case you need it. And that\u2019s a big change,\u201d says Richard Black. Today, people use hard drives and tape, on which the data become corrupted over time. So those media need to be replaced every few years.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the decade since the discovery by Zhang\u2019s team, Microsoft has been improving the technology. They\u2019ve found ways to write and read voxels faster and more reliably. They also now use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/scientists-say-machine-learning\">machine learning<\/a>, a type of AI, to convert voxel patterns back into digital data. Plus, they\u2019ve built a library of these stored sheets of data. It features robots called shuttles that shelve and retrieve glass platters.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image  has-alignleft\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_data_storage_reel.jpg\" alt=\"a photo of a reel of magnetic tape used for data storage\" class=\"wp-image-3150363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_data_storage_reel.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_data_storage_reel-600x383.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_data_storage_reel-704x450.jpg 704w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_data_storage_reel-291x186.jpg 291w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_data_storage_reel-768x491.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_data_storage_reel-908x580.jpg 908w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"caption wp-caption-3150363\">Most digital archives still use magnetic tape for long-term data storage. It\u2019s the same tape used in old-fashioned VHS movies and music cassettes. It\u2019s cheap. But humidity, dust and heat damage tape and mess up their data. So those data must be copied regularly to new tape. <\/span><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3150363\">RyanJLane\/iStock\/Getty Images Plus<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>So far, a robot has never yet dropped a platter. But if a platter broke or got lost, Black says, its data can always be found spread across many other platters. This is a common technique used when storing data on all kinds of media.<\/p>\n<p>For now, this is the only library of its kind. But Black has big goals. Microsoft runs hundreds of data centers. \u201cThe goal,\u201d Black says, \u201cwould be eventually [a library like this] is in every data center.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For data that we want to work with or access regularly, we will still need regular hard drives. That\u2019s because voxel patterns can\u2019t be altered once they\u2019re written. \u201cThis is an archival form of data storage,\u201d says Jariwala. It\u2019s meant to last a long time, unchanged. That\u2019s why it\u2019s such a perfect technology for the golden record project.<\/p>\n<p>And being unchangeable makes the stored data essentially hack-proof, Black adds. That\u2019s in sharp contrast to the magnetic tape used in past long-term storage methods. Tape can be rewritten as it\u2019s being read.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group cheat-sheet-cta\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Do you have a science question? We can help!<\/h2>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forms.gle\/YbhPosFTMqjbSNnV7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Submit your question here<\/a>, and we might answer it an upcoming issue of\u00a0<em>Science News Explores<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A message from humanity<\/h2>\n<p>The new golden record that\u2019s being aimed at aliens is not the first of its kind.<\/p>\n<p>Back in the 1970s, NASA launched two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/bon-voyage-voyager-1\">Voyager spacecraft<\/a>. Their main goal was to explore the solar system and beyond. Each one also carried a 30-centimeter (12-inch) gold-plated copper disk. The disks contain a message about humanity. Jon Lomberg selected many images and much of the music stored on the records.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"579\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1030_Voyager_Legacy_Golden_Record.png\" alt=\"a photo of the Golden Record (an actual record that is golden) sent with Voyager\" class=\"wp-image-3148308\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1030_Voyager_Legacy_Golden_Record.png 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1030_Voyager_Legacy_Golden_Record-680x383.png 680w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1030_Voyager_Legacy_Golden_Record-800x450.png 800w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1030_Voyager_Legacy_Golden_Record-330x186.png 330w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1030_Voyager_Legacy_Golden_Record-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"caption wp-caption-3148308\">Voyager 1 and 2 both carry a copy of The Golden Record in case another intelligent species intercepts the spacecraft. The gold-plated record (right) contains information, music and greetings from Earth. The protective cover (left) bears instructions for playing the record. <\/span><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3148308\">JPL-Caltech\/NASA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Such a disk is like \u201ca message in a bottle thrown into the ocean,\u201d he says. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/voyagers-biggest-discoveries-nasa-space\">These spacecraft are still out there, flying through the depths of space<\/a>. If aliens ever find one, they\u2019ll be able to learn about who built it.<\/p>\n<p>However, those records used a very early type of data storage. Not much fit onto a disk. Plus, humanity has changed a lot in the decades since. Alicia Zheng and Noe Mathew are working on the message for the new record. Both are juniors at Avenues The World School in New York City. \u201cOurs is more of a modern version of the original,\u201d says Alicia.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"579\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_data_storage_Avenues_Team.jpg\" alt=\"a photo showing the teens and teacher on the Avenues the World School Team\" class=\"wp-image-3150367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_data_storage_Avenues_Team.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_data_storage_Avenues_Team-680x383.jpg 680w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_data_storage_Avenues_Team-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_data_storage_Avenues_Team-330x186.jpg 330w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_data_storage_Avenues_Team-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"caption wp-caption-3150367\">This is the Avenues The World School team currently working on Golden Record 2.0.<\/span><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3150367\">Avenues The World School<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Students at schools in S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil, and San Jose,\u00a0Calif., are also involved in the project. Lomberg is advising all these students. But this time around, he\u2019s not choosing what to put into the message. \u201cI\u2019ve had my chance to say what pictures should go and what music should go,\u201d he says. He hopes lots of young people will contribute to the new message.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/research.avenues.org\/goldenrecord\/\" rel=\"noopener\">You can <\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/research.avenues.org\/goldenrecord\/ \u2197\" rel=\"noopener\">send in pictures or other suggested content to the Golden Record 2.0 website<\/a>. \u201cIt can be photos of family. It can be pets. Pictures showing different cultures from around the world are also important,\u201d says Alicia.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"702\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_schoolkids.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3150370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_schoolkids.png 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_schoolkids-562x383.png 562w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_schoolkids-660x450.png 660w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_schoolkids-273x186.png 273w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_schoolkids-768x523.png 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_schoolkids-851x580.png 851w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"caption wp-caption-3150370\">Here\u2019s one photograph that the Golden Record 2.0 team plans to include in their message. This was taken in 1978 at Blue Ridge Elementary School in Virginia. To Noe Mathew, this image shows that \u201cas humans, we put kids into classrooms and they enjoy their time there.\u201d Also, the blurry hands \u201cshow that they\u2019re moving,\u201d she says.<\/span><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3150370\">Patrick B. Mullen\/Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project collection (AFC 1982\/009)\/American Folklife Center\/Library of Congress<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Noe points out that they are also looking for audio, including greetings in different languages. \u201cWe have to think about how to represent humanity as a whole,\u201d Noe says.<\/p>\n<p>The students haven\u2019t yet found a spacecraft to carry the message. But they aren\u2019t rushing. They want to take time to perfect the message first, says Lomberg.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1440_LEM_glass_data_sample_plates.png\" alt=\"two sample glass data platters, on the left the platter is square and looks as though it has blue stripes in varying gradients etched in, on the right is an etching showing how to read data from the plate and how people count and measure things\" class=\"wp-image-3150368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1440_LEM_glass_data_sample_plates.png 1440w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1440_LEM_glass_data_sample_plates-680x340.png 680w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1440_LEM_glass_data_sample_plates-800x400.png 800w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1440_LEM_glass_data_sample_plates-330x165.png 330w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1440_LEM_glass_data_sample_plates-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1440_LEM_glass_data_sample_plates-1030x515.png 1030w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1440_LEM_glass_data_sample_plates-1380x690.png 1380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"caption wp-caption-3150368\">Richard Black and his team made these sample glass platters for the Golden Record 2.0 project. The one on the left contains images and other data. The one on the right has no data. But the drawing on the surface explains how to read the other platter. It also contains information about how people count and measure things.<\/span><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3150368\">Microsoft Research<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A time capsule<\/h2>\n<p>We don\u2019t yet know if life even exists beyond Earth. And the universe is a vast, mostly empty place. So chances are slim that another being will ever find one of these messages \u2014 either the older metal versions or the new ones made of glass.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image  has-alignright\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_Blue_marble_2012_NASA-450x450.png\" alt=\"a composite image showing Earth from space\" class=\"wp-image-3150369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_Blue_marble_2012_NASA-450x450.png 450w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_Blue_marble_2012_NASA-383x383.png 383w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_Blue_marble_2012_NASA-186x186.png 186w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_Blue_marble_2012_NASA-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_Blue_marble_2012_NASA-580x580.png 580w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_Blue_marble_2012_NASA-776x776.png 776w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_Blue_marble_2012_NASA-214x214.png 214w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_Blue_marble_2012_NASA-80x80.png 80w, https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1030_LEM_glass_storage_Blue_marble_2012_NASA.png 1030w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><span class=\"caption wp-caption-3150369\">Of course any greeting to aliens should include a picture of our home planet. Here\u2019s one that the Golden Record 2.0 team has selected.<\/span><span class=\"credit wp-credit-3150369\">NASA\/NOAA\/GSFC\/Suomi NPP\/VIIRS\/Norman Kuring<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>However, even if the messages never get found, Lomberg and the students he\u2019s working with think their efforts are worthwhile. \u201cThe fact that [the golden records] will be there long after humans are gone, perhaps long after the planet itself is gone, is awe-inspiring and thrilling,\u201d says Lomberg.<\/p>\n<p>Alicia says, \u201cIt\u2019s not only an archive of humanity for aliens, it\u2019s also an archive for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dexter Greene worked on the project with Alicia and Noe until he graduated last spring. He\u2019s currently studying mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. \u201cI like to think of it as a time capsule\u00a0of humanity,\u201d he said in the podcast. \u201cIt is about showing who we are to ourselves. Like taking a step back to realize where we are, how far we\u2019ve come, which direction we should go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>This is one in a\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/collections\/invention-innovation\"><em><strong>series presenting news on technology and innovation<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em><strong>, made possible with generous support from the Lemelson Foundation.<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<aside class=\"sn-conversion rich-text\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/article\/lasers-long-data-storage-inside-glass\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A robot whirs along a library shelf. Instead of books, this shelf holds napkin-sized squares of flat, clear glass. The robot selects a piece of glass and brings it over to a microscope. The instrument peers deep inside the glass. A speckly pattern, invisible to the naked eye, now comes into focus. A high-speed laser [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.snexplores.org\/wp-content\/themes\/sciencenews-sns-child\/client\/src\/images\/cta-module-sm@2x.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[606],"tags":[1076,21310,2806,90477,10560,20033],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240713"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240713"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240715,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240713\/revisions\/240715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}