[Infographic]: How Many Devices Would It Take to Store the Data in 1 Gram of DNA?

For this week’s infographic, we have performed some interesting calculations using the mathematical capabilities of ChatGPT. Scientific studies suggest that 1 gram of DNA can hold ~215 petabytes of DNA. 

That’s a huge amount of data, right? Imagine how many traditional data storage devices we would need to store this amount of data? 

Let’s find out.

Related article: How to Store Digital Data in DNA?

1. A typical old-age floppy disc could store 1.44 MB of data. To store 215 petabytes of data, you will need roughly ~150 billion floppy discs are required. 
2. The 80s cassette tape could store 700 MB of data. To store 215 petabytes of data, you will need roughly ~307 million cassettes. 
3. The 90s CD-ROM could store 700 MB of data. To store 215 petabytes of data, you will need roughly ~307 million cassettes. 
4. The DVD could store 4.7 GB of data. To store 215 petabytes of data, you will need roughly ~45.7 million DVDs.
5. The 2000s Blu-ray disc could store 25 GB of data. To store 215 petabytes of data, you will need roughly ~8.8 million Blu-ray discs.  
6. USB stick, popularly known as the pendrive, is available in various formats. If we take the example of the popular 10 GB storage capacity pen drive, to store 215 petabytes of data, you will need roughly ~21.5 million pen drives. 
7. If we consider 256 GB smartphone storage, you will need 840 thousand smartphones to store 215 petabytes of data. 
8. If we consider a 1 TB hard drive, you will need ~215 thousand hard drives to store 215 petabytes of data, which is equivalent to the data stored in 1 gram of DNA. 
9. An external SSD can store 2TB of data. To store 215 petabytes of data, you will need 107 thousand external SSDs. 
10. If we consider cloud storage, each cloud storage rack can store 10 PB of data. To store 215 petabytes of data, you will need 22 cloud storage racks. 

Related article: Cloud vs. DNA Storage- A Gram of DNA Will Replace Servers.

DNA as a data storage unit has infinite potential. In the near future, it will be available and soon replace cloud storage. Read our previous articles on this topic to get more insight into the DNA data storage.