Re: Is holographic data storage possible at this time?

While there are many efforts going on to perfect the science of 
information storage in holographic form, there has yet to be any 
commercial application of the exact technology you're referring to.  
Variations on laser-based data storage have been around for years, in 
compact discs and DVDs.

The technology of true holographic memory will only become commercially 
viable when the industry sees an advantage in it's use.  For example, if 
your goal is to carry around an entire set of encyclopedias in your 
pocket, you can already do that today with conventional silicon memory 
systems.

Applications that need a great deal of memory like weather prediction or 
artificial intelligence systems, would benefit from such technology, but 
today, at the time of this writing (August 2001), there has yet to be any 
broad public need for such things.  (Yeah, sure everybody WANTS one, but 
no one is ready to pay the millions of dollars to get one.)

And the answer to your last question is, yes, information can be stored in 
holographic form.  A hologram is a kind of information after all.  There 
have been ideas of combining two associated holographic images for data 
storage, for example, an image of a dog from one angle produces an image 
of a bone from another angle, or a cat from another angle.

And then, of course, the fine control of recording individual bits and 
bytes with accuracy is another way of storing data. While such data has 
been "stored" successfully, it takes more than the raw placing of a bit 
and retrieving it.  The hardware has to be manufactured for reliability, 
reduced cost and ease of use.  Control software has to be in place to make 
sure that the data doesn't get corrupted or overwritten at the wrong 
time.  The development of all of the peripheral support components of such 
a system could take years.

In fact, I can remember the laser lab at my university working on such 
things in the mid-1980s.  That should give you a sense of how long it 
takes to get such sophisticated ideas from the idea stage to the hands of 
the public. And when it finally gets implmented commercially, it may still 
be a while before regular folks get to see it.  Data storage is usually 
something that happens behind the scenes at the corporate level, like 
telephone companies, banks, etc.

I would venture to guess that by the time your children are the age you 
are now, you'll be pulling out your old CD collection and trying to 
explain to your kids how that old technology used to work. They'll be 
wearing their entire music holo-video collection in their headsets, trying 
to imagine a world without it.

If you're interested in making a contribution to the technology, consider 
studying physics (with focus in lasers, or material science), computer 
programming (with focus in system design, data storage algorithms and 
device drivers), engineering (electrical, mechanical, or computers), or 
even chemistry (after all, that material they use, needs to be developed 
too).

For more information, check out these websites:

"Basic Concepts of  Spectral-Holographic Memory"  
http://opticb.uoregon.edu/~mosswww/memory/shm.html

"How Holographic Memory Will Work"  
http://www.howstuffworks.com/holographic-memory.htm

"Visualize: Holographic Memory"  
http://www.techreview.com/magazine/may01/visualize.asp