New Scientist Digital image stored in single small molecule

An image composed of over 1000 bits of information can be stored in the atoms of a single molecule, US researchers have shown.

Bing Fung and colleagues at the University of Oklahoma found that the 19 hydrogen atoms in a lone liquid crystal molecule can store at least 1024 bits of information. The data are stored in the complex interaction of the protons' magnetic moments.

Moore's Law, that computer memory and speed doubles every 18 months, has room to keep operating.