By Peter Weiss
Want a tip about the future of digital data storage? How about a thousand or a million tips
at once?
A large array of sharp, microscopic points (SN: 4/1/95, p. 207) can be outstanding for
recording and retrieving data on a layer of plastic, report Mark I. Lutwyche and his colleagues
at IBM’s research laboratory in Zurich. Currently in the prototype stage, a 1,024-tip device can
already write bits in less space—albeit in a spotty manner—than the best laboratory magnetic