100 Watt Blue-Violet Laser Could Mean 1TB Optical Disks

Sony and Tohuku University have developed a 100 Watt laser with Blue-Violet output that could revolutionize the future of optical storage disks.  The laser will go in the record books as being more than 100 times the current highest output values for blue-violet semiconductor lasers but just how much more could you fit on a portable disk?

Honestly, the math is above me but Japanese news outlets are quoted as saying that the new laser translates to 20 more powerful than a Blu-Ray laser.  If you multiply the amount of data current generation Blu-Ray disks can hold by 20, you get 1TB. So what could you do with an amount of portable disc storage that was previously only available in entire computer hard drive?  The answer is anything you wanted to.  20 movies on 1 disc seems a little far-fetched but no doubt you could expand the extra features to near-limitless capacities.  However, the true genius behind this new invention could come when that amount of disc storage hits game console.

No doubt the price tag on this new tech—even if it does get pushed into mass production any time soon—will be extremely high for a while though.