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.
Hehe nice thinking there appl. Don't think in terms of static voltage (or difference of charge) though; think of a change-of-voltage. According to quotes from Williams and Chua (great article on EEtimes.com) the memristor passes a hysteresis loop; if you apply AC the change of resistance is basically zero after one period. If you "give" it a certain resistance once, you can work with it applying AC and change it by superimposing a DC signal over it.
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