But a new study suggests that encoding information using corkscrew-shaped laser beams could help us keep pace with our ever-increasing data demands.

For several decades, we've been finding ways to consistently make computers and the components that power them ever faster, cheaper and smaller, as outlined by Moore's Law. Specifically, Moore's Law is more of an observation than an actual physical law that essentially states that the amount of computing power that can be squeezed into an integrated circuit doubles roughly every two years.

But many have argued this process can't continue forever as engineers will eventually run up against the limitations of physics itself. In other words, at some point it will become impossible to make chips and other components any smaller. With engineers now working with materials that are only one-atom thick, some say the end of Moore's law could be as little as a few years away.