AnAppleSnail
- Science
HP Discovers Potential "God Particle" of Electronics
Silicon Valley is mostly a world of practical technology—applying principles from pure science to create handy gadgets. But today, Hewlett Packard announced a new electrical component born of theoretical physics. The device, a nanoscale component called a "memristor," requires no power to retain data, which it can store more densely than a hard drive and access about as fast as a computers RAM memory—potentially allowing it to replace both components in the future.
4.30.2008 at 04:01pm - Comment by AnAppleSnailI'm no EE, but if I'm recalling correctly then you use Ohm's Law to measure the resistance of a device. My ohmmeter does this by sending a known current through the resistance to be tested and measuring the voltage. V/I = R, and I know the resistance. If the only way to measure the 'stored value' (resistance) is to send a current through the memristor, then any time you read this memory you'll reset it (to high resistance, I think). It seems like in my ignorance there's no way to have a current interact with the memristor without changing the 'stored' resistance, which means you can't read it without changing it.
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December 2009: Best of What's New
In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.
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