Technologies

Microsoft Researchers Figure Out How to Store Data Inside Glass Using Lasers

The researchers say the data could be retrieved from the glass in 10,000 years.

Most of the world’s information is stored digitally right now. Every year, we generate more data than we did the year before. Now, with AI in the picture, a technology that relies on a whole lot of data, the amount of digital information we save is increasing exponentially.

The research arm of Microsoft has been working on a method for data storage that uses a laser to write inside glass. The researchers say that the information written in the glass will last for 10,000 years.

If this method can be scaled for commercial use, it could change how we store the world’s information. Data rot — losing information due to old storage systems — means we have to transfer data at least once every generation to keep it. Otherwise, it gets corrupted with age.

Microsoft’s Project Silica research director Richard Black tells CNET that its work shows long-term digital storage in glass is practical, not just a science experiment.

“One of the biggest challenges with today’s storage is that media wears out and has to be replaced regularly,” Black says. “Glass doesn’t have that problem.”

Using a laser to modify pieces of glass to keep data safe for many lifetimes could have a drastic and lasting impact on all of the information we decide to keep.

Glass memory

Storing data in glass instead of using traditional digital systems is a project Microsoft has been working on for quite a while. Here’s a video that CNET made of the project six years ago, when it was just an idea.

On Feb. 18, Microsoft’s Project Silica published a paper in the science journal Nature that shows real advances in this long-term project. One of the big advances is writing the information on a less expensive material, which makes this technique more affordable.

Originally, the researchers used glass called fused silica. But this material, which is used for components in lasers and semiconductors, is expensive to manufacture, which could make the storage technology cost-prohibitive for many purposes.

Now, the researchers figured out how to store information in a sturdy glass that’s used for kitchen cookware, called borosilicate glass. This material cuts down the cost significantly.

Writing with lasers

To write in the glass, Project Silica has been using femtosecond lasers. A femtosecond is one quadrillionth of a second. This kind of laser emits super-fast pulses. It’s commonly used for eye surgeries because it can cut underneath without damaging the surface.

To store information, the laser cuts voxels inside the glass. A voxel is like a pixel, but it stores information in three dimensions, like a cube, instead of in two dimensions. The video game Minecraft famously uses voxels to create its worlds.

“The key breakthrough is something the team calls phase voxels: tiny, controlled changes written inside ordinary borosilicate glass using a single laser pulse,” Black says. “This makes writing and reading data simpler and faster, and allows the use of low-cost glass rather than specialized materials.”

Because glass is a hard material, it’s not going to change over time. That’s why this storage method could maintain the integrity of the data for much longer than a standard computer system.

To retrieve the information, Project Silica has devised archives to hold the pieces of glass. Robots retrieve the glass, and then a neural network reads the data that’s written inside. Microsoft has a website that shows the robots zooming across the archive to retrieve the glass.

Perpetual storage

Microsoft has already used this storage technique in proofs of concept. In 2019, Project Silica stored the 1978 Superman film inside a piece of glass the size of a drink coaster.

In Svalbard, Norway, this technology is being used for the Global Music Vault project, which is designed to “future-proof” a wide variety of music. Microsoft also says this technology could complement projects like the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, a doomsday vault that has a repository of seeds from different plants around the world.

“Glass is extremely durable and can tolerate heat, humidity, electromagnetic interference and physical damage much better than hard drives or magnetic tape,” Black says. “It also lasts far longer, meaning data doesn’t need to be recopied every few years.

“Because it’s naturally resistant to tampering and doesn’t require ongoing power or frequent replacement, it’s especially well suited for archives,” he continues. “Over long time scales, it can also be more sustainable than today’s storage technologies.”

Technologies

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”