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Baked clay is likely superior. Ceramics have fewer impurities that stone has that would cause data loss from standard things like erosion. Much of the oldest pr

Baked clay is likely superior. Ceramics have fewer impurities that stone has that would cause data loss from standard things like erosion. Much of the oldest preserved writing is preserved on ceramics. For another expensive approach, I suspect gold, like the gold voyager record would surpass it. I imagine you could encode a lot of data in something like a QR code stamped in clay.

prox 4y ago
Microfiches would be a great more practical alternative I think :)
fulafel 4y ago
The oldest surviving tablets are stone tablets, so as a stone tablet marketing guy I'll have to say that clay is still relatively unproven technology. (A more hasty experimentalist might conclude that it is proven - to be less durable than stone)
- hdjjhhvvhga 4y ago
  As a titanium engraving marketing guy, I'd argue that my technology is younger and even less proven than ceramics, but I'm going to bet it's more durable than engraving in stone.
  - tiborsaas 4y ago
    The technology is probably superior, but there's a conceptual flaw that is titanium being a valuable material. This results in a risk that data gets erased and the carrier material turned into jewellery, prosthetics or other funky stuff.
    - 2000UltraDeluxe 4y ago
      Clay tablets were often wiped and re-used. A lot of the ones we have preserved were preserved because the buildings used for storage burnt down, hardening the clay tablets and preserving the writings. In other words, clay tablets get re-purposed too.
- adrian_b 4y ago
  The stone or ceramic tablets are fragile, so they can break. Bronze tablets will not break. Unlike stone or ceramic, they are slowly corroded, but we have well preserved bronze tablets which have survived at least 2200 years. A bronze tablet, or better a stainless steel sheet, can be engraved with text using a computer-controlled mill.
  - jhgb 4y ago
    Wouldn't corrosion be easily prevented using electroplating? A gilded surface would have significant longevity on top of any metal.
  - bashmelek 4y ago
    If money is no object, where does, say, platinum-iridium stand on this?
cm2187 4y ago
Marble seems to be holding pretty well. Lots of broken ceramics.

prox 4y ago

Microfiches would be a great more practical alternative I think :)

fulafel 4y ago

The oldest surviving tablets are stone tablets, so as a stone tablet marketing guy I'll have to say that clay is still relatively unproven technology. (A more hasty experimentalist might conclude that it is proven - to be less durable than stone)

hdjjhhvvhga 4y ago
As a titanium engraving marketing guy, I'd argue that my technology is younger and even less proven than ceramics, but I'm going to bet it's more durable than engraving in stone.
- tiborsaas 4y ago
  The technology is probably superior, but there's a conceptual flaw that is titanium being a valuable material. This results in a risk that data gets erased and the carrier material turned into jewellery, prosthetics or other funky stuff.
  - 2000UltraDeluxe 4y ago
    Clay tablets were often wiped and re-used. A lot of the ones we have preserved were preserved because the buildings used for storage burnt down, hardening the clay tablets and preserving the writings. In other words, clay tablets get re-purposed too.
adrian_b 4y ago
The stone or ceramic tablets are fragile, so they can break. Bronze tablets will not break. Unlike stone or ceramic, they are slowly corroded, but we have well preserved bronze tablets which have survived at least 2200 years. A bronze tablet, or better a stainless steel sheet, can be engraved with text using a computer-controlled mill.
- jhgb 4y ago
  Wouldn't corrosion be easily prevented using electroplating? A gilded surface would have significant longevity on top of any metal.
- bashmelek 4y ago
  If money is no object, where does, say, platinum-iridium stand on this?

cm2187 4y ago

Marble seems to be holding pretty well. Lots of broken ceramics.