[geeks] jackassery from the BBC

[Joshua Boyd]

On Thu, Jan 08, 2009 at 09:31:37AM -0500, der Mouse wrote:
> > I heard somewhere that SEM doesn't work on the perpendicular write
> > drives anymore anyway because the data density is a higher resolution
> > than a SEM can resolve.  Does anyone know if there is any truth to
> > this?
> 
> I for one don't believe it until I see something firmer than "I heard
> somewhere".  SEMs, if I'm thinking of the right device (maybe I'm
> thinking of atomic force microscopes?), can resolve individual atoms,
> and if the magnetic domains are smaller than that then (a) we the disk
> customers being grossly cheated on storage density and (b) I want to
> know what's storing the data.

Wikipedia says that SEMs can resolve down to 1nm.  So, it is really a
question of if the density on the latest drives is higher than that.

Are you thinking of STM (scanning tunneling microscopes)?  Those can
view individual atoms, and some of them can also move them.   

I believe that the somewhere was an "expert" guest on some techy show on
rev3.  I say "expert" because I don't think that most magazine or tech
blog writers are really all that expert.