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.

great

Apr 30, 2008 17:00     

great for hackers since it never lose memories.. and here comes "Skynet"....
ha report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -4

Had to read from a couple of sources

Apr 30, 2008 18:00     

I had to read from a couple of sources before I'd believe this, but from all accounts it seems to be legit (unless HP is perpetuating a big hoax). This turns the tables on current circuit theory (which as and Electrical Engineer I've studied and used extensively). In another article published on the discovery, the writer equates it to how Sir Issac Newton redefined the physical principle of Force, dismissing the previously held principles of Aristotle's Law of Motion (that had been accepted as fact for more than 2000 years). This is in a word HUGE! It's such a new concept that it will take years, maybe decades, to truly figure out how to work it into designs, but the potential is almost limitless.

EEngineer report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

Skynet

Apr 30, 2008 18:22     

Yep, Skynet was what I was trying to think of when I first sampled news on this discovery. Emulating neurons? Things could go sour very fast..
Pete Dixon report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

The Singularity is Near!

Apr 30, 2008 22:33     

Run for the hills! Seriously though, this stuff takes a long time to reach the consumer side of the market.
Ryan report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

What do you mean by "element"?

May 01, 2008 00:10     

What do you mean by "element"? A new kind of circuitry? Some nano-compound? Or some atom with 119 protons that would somehow be stable and mass-made? Is this proprietary? Can we expect big bucks to flow into HP?
Jack report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

Good Deal

May 01, 2008 00:29     

Forget about skynet - from what I'm reading, this is equivalent to the change from vacuum tubes to CMOS. This is amazing stuff. Unfortunately, TG doesn't dive into the hardware description, but from other sources it seems to act like an electronically controlled potentiometer. Not only can it turn resistance on and off, but it can essentially hold finite value based on the level of resistance. I wouldn't read into the hype about instant-on computers and such, but just consider what CMOS did and I bet the same will happen again over the next two decades if the is true.

Karson report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Cool News - a little thin

May 01, 2008 06:23     

On such a topic one would expect the author to go through the other relevant sources and actually write a bit in depth..
Andrew report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

remember...

May 01, 2008 07:29     

the movie demolition man? Stupid movie I know (but fun anyways), but if HP gets all the patents on this and is the only one really able to create processors and components based on this technology then it would be like in that movie where taco bell takes over the food industry.
Caeden report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

look it up

May 01, 2008 17:27     

Agreed that the article is extremely vague. "...described as the fourth basic type of passive circuit element, alongside the well-known capacitor, resistor, and inductor. The name is a portmanteau of memory resistor.","...effectively stores information because the level of its electrical resistance changes when current is applied." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memristor
me report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

End of overclocking?

May 09, 2008 09:16     

If this ever replaces the cpu, would it be the end of overclocking, considering that the chip programming instrucions and chip itself was made only to run at a certain resistance? Overclocking would directly effect it negatively?
Sorbitol report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0