Recently, it was discovered a way to store digital data using half the space than current systems require and can store up to 7 bits using colors. In this post, learn what chemical memory is, how it was developed and what it can provide for technology and the convenience of our daily lives.

What is Bit?

Bit is the acronym for Binary Digit. It is the smallest unit of information that can be stored or transmitted. A bit has a single value, 0 or 1, cut or pass power, or in this context any two mutually exclusive values. Computers have instructions and commands that can test and manipulate bits, but are usually designed to store instructions in multiple bits, called bytes.

Chemical memory can store up to 7 bits using colors.

Nowadays, using dyes it is possible to store the data optically in a quaternary code: 0, 1, 2 and 3. With this finding, instead of numbers, the chemical storage system uses the absence of color and three colors produced as symbols representing the information.
According to US Case Western Reserve University professor Emily Pentzer, instead of using engineering to deal with data storage, they are using chemistry, which are complementary activities.

Optochemical Memory

To construct the chemical memory, the team loaded a small amount of the two dye molecules onto a flexible sheet of PMMA, or poly (methyl methacrylate), a colorless polymer in light and ambient temperatures.
The first dye, oligo, flurses green when exposed to heat. Upon exposure to violet light, the second dye, known as o-nitrobenzyl ester of benzoic acid, fluoresces deep blue. When exposed to heat and UV light, they fluoresce as cyan.

The next step is to investigate the use of specialized lasers to decrease the size and spacing of the chemical bits, this will allow increasing the density of data.
At this stage of testing, then investigating whether a third dye can be added to respond to different stimuli. If all goes well, it will be possible to store data using a code of up to seven symbols.