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What does the resistor, capacitor, and the inductor all have in common? They make up the three basic circuit elements. All electronics are based off of those three components. Although, in 1971, a researcher by the name of Leon Chua knew that a fourth element existed but no one knew how to physically make it, until recently.

Researchers at HP Labs were able to build a real working “memristor”; adding to the three basic circuit elements. This discovery opens up lots of possibilities for electronic circuits.

So, what is a memristor? A memristor, or memory resistor, carries a memory of its past. Even when the voltage to a circuit is turned off, the memristor will remember how much voltage was applied and for how long. This characteristic cannot be replicated by any combination of the three circuit elements.

The memory or RAM inside your computer is volatile memory. This means that when you turn off your computer, all of the temporary data stored in the memory is lost. Memristors open up the possibility to create non-volatile memory that remembers the state your computer was in when you turned it off. Your computer will return to the exact state it was when you turned it off, no more waiting for your computer to boot up and initialize.

There are many other applications for memristors such as building computers to replicate the human brain. Keep an eye out for more discoveries in the realm of memristors.