Ice bubbles
The information can be stored on ice during millennia, simply making subtle changes in the shape and position of the internal bubbles, which can then be converted into binary codes or morse.
A group of researchers from the Beijing Institute of Technology was studying the formation of whether When they realized they could influence the size and shape of the bubbles that were formed inside.
For example, while freezing layers of water between plastic leaves, they found that changing the freezing rate created layers of egg or needle bubbles.
The researchers then attributed sizes, shapes and positions of the bubbles to characters in codes morse and binary.
The control of the water freezing rate between the plastic leaves produced ice that transmitted a message through the internal bubbles.
When they converted a photograph of this ice to shades of gray, the areas that looked white represented ice regions with bubbles, while black areas had no blisters.
From there, as the study conclusions reveal, this Wednesday in Cell Reports Physical Scienceone computer managed to detect the size and position of the bubbles and decipher the message.
Only a few phrases of information could be stored in a normal ice cube with current technology. However, it is possible that information can also be stored by manipulating bubbles within materials such as plastics, explained the investigation leader Mengjie Songhas .
The investigator states that this discovery has many applications, besides the novelty of reading a message coded in an ice cube.
“The advantage of this study is the long -term information storage capacity in a cold environment, such as the North Pole or in the South Polo“He says.
In addition, Song says, they may also contribute to the conservation of food and medicines; as well as prevent the formation of ice on aircraft wings.
