Stefan Dinse / Alamy The computer hard discs of the future will have a higher data-storage capacity through the clever use of heating or microwave energy. Researchers at Toshiba have discovered a stepping-stone solution that may help pave the way to those next-generation discs. A hard disc consists of spinning platters covered in microscopic magnetic particles known as grains. The magnetic orientation of a small cluster of grains determines whether a single bit – the smallest unit of computational information – is a 0 or a 1. Advertisement These grain clusters have become smaller and smaller as manufacturers have sought higher data density. But if they are too small, then very little energy is needed to change their magnetic orientation, leaving bits susceptible to accidental flipping from 0 to 1, or vice versa, and damaging the data on the disc.