# storage (physical)

a place where matter is kept for later use

- Computed level: L7 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: everyday  ·  Arena: common

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [matter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-matter.substance), [container](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-container.object), [space](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-space.extent), [time](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-time.dimension), [keep](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-keep.maintenance), [later](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-later.temporal), [use](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-use.application)

**Through:** the container maintains matter in a spatial extent over time, enabling its future application

**Novel properties:**
- persisted availability of matter
- temporal deferral of use
- controlled access to contents

## Examples
- The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway stores 1.2 million seed samples in permafrost at -18°C. *(biology)*
- The Hoover Dam's reservoir, Lake Mead, held 32 billion cubic meters of water in 2000 before drought reduced it by half. *(engineering)*
- Bitcoin's blockchain immutably stores 400 gigabytes of transaction data across thousands of nodes as of 2023. *(computing)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-storage.physical*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-storage.physical.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*