Memory breakthrough?

[PTRMAN]

Fudzilla - New electric circuit type discovered

Interesting possibility of new memory

[Badluck Inc]

Very interesting.

[gvblake22]

Hmmmmm. A little over my head, but I guess I can see where such a thing could be useful. I'll wait to see the story from a more credible source other than Fudzilla before I make any further thoughts about this whole thing though.

[screwballl]

Originally Posted by gvblake22

Hmmmmm. A little over my head, but I guess I can see where such a thing could be useful. I'll wait to see the story from a more credible source other than Fudzilla before I make any further thoughts about this whole thing though.

agreed.... that is the whole point of their site, FUD...

[PTRMAN]

Reuters: Scientists develop new type of memory circuit

[screwballl]

good to see the information out there even if it is minimal...

[Stormcrow]

So from what I understand in the article, they basically have the same concept as Flash Memory but in the circuit and not on a chip?

[screwballl]

pretty much... it allows a circuit (more like our current RAM) to actually retain its information, so it is like combining the best of both worlds, Flash drives and system memory (the way I understand it).
I hope the first thing they put it to use on is BIOS and system memory...
but as some information points out, modify the motherboard so that the memory and hard drive are one and the same device so it is all fast direct access, no need for separate memory and hard drive.

DailyTech just picked it up:

DailyTech - HP Invents Fabled Memristor, New Class of Electrical Components

[Boy'nBlack]

It's not really memory. It's a circuit, with memory. And the way they describe it is a simple diode.

Doesn't say that it retains any data, but remembers what happens inside itself. That doesn't make sense. You build circuits, which are paths. The electron doesn't need to know anything more to stay on the path. What they're saying is that they've made electrons remember and magically the path widens and amperage is ramped. Huh? You can do that now by making a wider path...no magic.

The terminology is all messed up. A semiconductor is a part of a circuit. Without a circuit, it's just a part. They've claimed to have invented a circuit though, based on a part...and the circuit changes because of the part? It's just flawed on a lot of levels.

"Data could theoretically be read and wrote directly to and from memristors"...that's memory as we have it today. The DT story also exaggerates on POST activity. A POST is quicker than they talk around, and factor in the entire BOOT process as taking power and energy. At best, they just removed the CMOS battery...the rest stays the exact same.

In the end, I'd like to see how this electrical contraption retains data with no power. I only see it remembering states of biasing...not data.
[/font]

[screwballl]

The device could eventually make dynamic random access memory (DRAM) obsolete. In current systems, active computers store data in DRAM, but must shuffle the information to and from a magnetic hard disk or a flash drive, nonvolatile forms of memory. Furthermore, when the computer is turned on, the DRAM must be initially loaded from the magnetic memory. These processes consume both time and energy, slowing computing and raising the energy and heat envelopes of systems.

A memristor would need no boot up as its data would be exactly how it was previously left. Data could theoretically be read and wrote directly to and from memristors, eliminating the need for hard drives, except possibly for backup storage.

One key problem to data centers has always been the possibility of a power loss. The memristor essentially would take away the problem, as barring complete circuit destruction; the data would survive a power outage. The type of memory also offers the possibility of continuously learning and adapting systems, similar to the human brain. Such systems could be used in facial recognition technology, as well as in enabling advanced biometric security and privacy features.

This uses the "remembering" function of flash and the speed of RAM. Its like running a flash stick at the speed of your front side bus plus being able to read and write from it at these same speeds.

It is a resistor that remembers the current flowing through it (data) rather than the current disapearing when power is removed.