While the idea, called Spintronics, has been investigated , the researchers assert their work as a breakthrough, for a number of reasons.

First, the information stays encoded for 100 seconds, a longevity previously not achieved in spintronics prototypes. Also, their approach allows the data to be encoded on phosphorus atoms, allowing data to be easily read and updated by silicon-based equipment, the kind used by today's computers.

The researchers -- from Florida State University, the University of Utah, University College London and the University of Sydney -- have in the latest issue of Science.

Using equipment from Florida State University's National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the researchers were able to control the magnetic character, or spin, of electrons and their nuclei they orbit. They used powerful magnetic fields to direct the spin and cold temperatures to quell the motion of the atoms.

“Finding a system compatible with silicon, the main material used in the semiconductor industry, is particularly useful as it has the potential to be incorporated into existing technology,” said Dane McCamey, one of the project's investigators, in a statement. “We could then integrate spin-based information storage and processing devices onto a single chip.”