Microsoft researchers used a laser to encode Warner Bros. 'Superman' on a piece of glass, and the results are striking

Microsoft said its researchers had produced a piece of glass that is 7.5 centimeters long and 2 millimeters thick and contains the entire 1978 film "Superman." The feat is the culmination of years of research, made possible by recent advances in ultra-fast laser optics and artificial intelligence, Microsoft said on Monday. Researchers used lasers to carve tiny three-dimensional etchings into the glass's surface that could be read by machine-learning algorithms trained to look at the patterns created when a light is shined through the glass. The research builds on other Microsoft projects that aim to store data more efficiently in the long term. A concurrent project is centered on an invention dubbed Pelican that uses cold storage to preserve dozens of disk drives, The Register reported.