IBM researchers are working on a technology dubbed as “racetrack memory,” which uses tiny magnetic boundaries to store data for handheld gadgets storing hours of film footage.

Called Racetrack Memory, the technology is able to store information in magnetic domains (groups of atoms) and then use electrical current to move the domains along the wire and over read/write heads. Current mechanical hard drive technology stores data on platters and uses a spindle motor to rotate the platters under the read/write heads.

Theoretically at least, these devices could operate on a single battery charge for “weeks at a time”, and could last for decades.

Stuart Parkin, the lead researcher for IBM, also hinted that “the promise of racetrack memory could unleash creativity leading to devices and applications that nobody has imagined yet.”

If the expected data densities of the technology are realized, it could enable a portable MP3 player to hold up to 500,000 songs. Parkin disclosed they are working on building a prototype but that it could take up to four years to produce and another three or four to refine it for commercial use.