If a bit of information could be stored in a molecule, a memory block the size of a sugar cube would store terabytes of data, hundreds of times more than can fit on a DVD.
The molecule illustrated above is the first to be toggled between the states that store 1s and 0s and remain stable during read-out. It consists of a molecular dye linked to a molecular switch. Green light switches the molecule to an “on” state by breaking open a ring of carbon atoms, violet switches it “off”, and red reads the state by causing the dye to…
