Palo Alto (CA) - HP today announced that it has proven the existence of a new basic element, an intriguing breakthrough that could lead to big advancements to anything that uses electronic circuits.
Previously only theorized, the discovery of the element known as "memristor" could have researchers able to develop computing systems that do not lose memory.
Additionally, the new element could lead to systems that are much less relient on power consumption and can literally process information more like a human mind than current technologies.
Known as the fourth circuit element, it has been pontificated and discussed in science circles for decades but has never been proven until now, said HP.
The HP team leader R. Stanley Williams, who described the breakthrough as "a big surprise," said, "By providing a mathematical model for the physics of a memristor, HP Labs has made it possible for engineers to develop integrated circuit designs that could dramatically improve the performance and energy efficiency of PCs and data centers."
HP said that Memristor could eventually replace DRAM (dynamic random access memory) as the most efficient and advanced memory in wide use.
Additionally, HP said, it could lead to more advancements in facial recognition and other biometric technologies.
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Mark Raby is a freelance writer for Tom's Hardware, covering a wide range of topics, from video game reviews to detailed analyses of computer processors.
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You guys need to be a little more specific. What kind of element? I hope you are not referring to the periodic table. If so, you people are **** dumb.Reply
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Bycustin_76 hey SADDAY - maybe get a clue and look something up yourself once in a while and you wont look like such an idiot when "You" post like that.Reply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memristor -
Turas What do you think we are talking though in terms of something real from the tech? 10 years, 20 years? So much exciting stuff going on, I just hope I live to see some of it. I want my Jetson style tv that is affordable in my lifetime.Reply -
agentbb007 @ Sadday, they are talking about electical elements. Chemical elements are the ones we all know from the periodic table.Reply -
maxcue This article used the term "element" too-loosely. They don't mean element as in carbon or hydrogen but a CIRCUIT element. There's already a brief entry on widipedia, but the clue in any case is that "memristor", while a great name for a new circuit element, doesn't hold to any naming conventions for new actual elements, which are typically named after, or by, their discoverers, and usually end with -ium (at least the later ones).Reply -
infornography42 I remember similar things being said about zram and tram. I'll believe it when it happens. Too many times I have gotten excited about upcoming technologies only to never hear of them again and they just vanish.Reply
It would be nice to see some fundamental changes in the PC market, but ... I'm through holding my breath.