Tiny whiskers make huge memory storage

February 3, 2003 | Source: UPI

New, tiny magnetic sensors could help break a technical barrier to ushering in the next generation of computer disk storage capacity.

The sensors, filaments of nickel thinner than a wavelength of visible light, are capable of detecting extremely weak magnetic fields using a phenomenon called “ballistic magnetoresistance.”

The sensors also could be used to detect biomolecules.