# Memristors **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 1, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memristors/447641 "2008-05-01T17:40:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memristors/447641/1 "2008-05-01T17:40:24Z")
[Memristors](http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207403521). This could be interesting… I wonder what they’ll make of it? I don’t know enough about electronics to even guess. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memristors/447641/2 "2008-05-01T17:53:52Z")
As the article mentions, the main known uses of the memristor are in creating ultra-high density storage devices (think a 400 GB iPod the same size as the current 60 GB one) and in cutting down on excess heat, which could go a long way towards making computing environmentally friendly. It’s not clear from the article whether memristors can be used to redesign existing devices, but if so, the lack of waste heat could be the big deal there. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memristors/447641/3 "2008-05-01T18:04:39Z")
Imagine a computer that restarts instantly from a suspended state, as onboard memory has been replaced by memristor-based RAM. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memristors/447641/4 "2008-05-01T18:06:18Z")
From the comments on that page: “Now we just need the evolutionists to admit their theories are wrong too, hopefully that will be 30 rather than 2000 years”. :rolleyes: Surely nobody that dumb is an “IC Product Manager”? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memristors/447641/5 "2008-05-01T19:43:17Z")
That is very interesting. Maybe the 32-gig SDHC card is only the beginning… ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memristors/447641/6 "2008-05-01T20:25:16Z")
Makes me think of the Matrix. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memristors/447641/7 "2008-05-01T22:45:38Z")
I just skimmed the article quickly. That sounds like it could be a breakthough that could lead to denser, cooler storage devices. Could someone here that’s smarter than me tell me if this idea translates into memristors replacing transistors in microprocessors? Because, that would be a very major breakthough. Microprocessors that run cooler would use less power and live longer. Obviously, laptop makers would love it, but I’m thinking about the possibilities for embedded control systems where the limiting factor in processing horsepower always seems to be the cooling. I gotta admit that the idea of processors and storage devices that could survive short-term power outages and pick up where they left off is pretty darned exciting, too. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memristors/447641/8 "2008-05-01T23:51:39Z")
[QUOTE=Lightnin’] Imagine a computer that restarts instantly from a suspended state, as onboard memory has been replaced by memristor-based RAM. [/QUOTE] I don’t have to imagine. It’s called “sleep”, and I use it on my Mac Quad every night. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memristors/447641/9 "2008-05-02T00:00:24Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] I don’t have to imagine. It’s called “sleep”, and I use it on my Mac Quad every night. [/QUOTE] Your Mac Quad (and other computers, such as Windows machines) still requires power to maintain the memory, which (if I understand correctly) memristors won’t. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memristors/447641/10 "2008-05-02T01:27:12Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] I don’t have to imagine. It’s called “sleep”, and I use it on my Mac Quad every night. [/QUOTE] Your Mac Quad doesn’t maintain its program context in “sleep” mode without using power, either. It has to dump it off to RAM that uses power or the processor itself has to use power to maintain its context. If the processor in your Mac Quad suffers a temporary power outage, it has to start all over again, reinitialize, and reconfigure all of its interfaces. That’s not alway a good thing for embedded systems. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memristors/447641/11 "2008-05-02T01:40:11Z")
[QUOTE=Tully Mars] Your Mac Quad doesn’t maintain its program context in “sleep” mode without using power, either. It has to dump it off to RAM that uses power or the processor itself has to use power to maintain its context. If the processor in your Mac Quad suffers a temporary power outage, it has to start all over again, reinitialize, and reconfigure all of its interfaces. That’s not alway a good thing for embedded systems. [/QUOTE] No kidding. But if the only benefit of “memristors” was non-volatility, they’d be a big yawn. Non-volatile memory is available in many forms these days, including RAM-speed devices: [Ferroelectric RAM - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferroelectric_RAM)