Mini Project III: “Quantum Leap, Creative Heap”

Memristor - a new paradigm

Ever since the development of the field of electrical engineering, researchers have been pursuing smaller and more innovative ways of computing. The current science of Electrical Engineering is based on the notion of the existence of three electronic components; the resistor, the inductor, and the capacitor. These three main components have become the building blocks for virtually every electronic device in the consumer market. However for over four decades, scientists have been pursuing ways of proving the theory postulated by Prof. Leon Chua at the University of California (Berkeley) of the potential existence of a fourth component. It is only with the discovery of the “Memristor”, short for memory resistor, made by Stanley Williams at HP Labs that researchers watched theory become reality. This new component not only promises to change the way we see computing today but provides means of understanding inaccuracies that have surfaced in circuit boards as technology progresses. A new paradigm in science and innovation is brought about revolutionizing not only the size and efficiency of our mobile electronic devices, but also the way we interact with such electronics devices, providing further insight into the science of electricity as well as biomechanics. This new paradigm not only provides us insight into the way that leaders of today must look at the world, but also teaches us that conventional thinking will not enable us to properly evolve. By analyzing the meaning behind this new innovation will we be able to prepare ourselves for the responsibilities that we must bear as leaders of the 21^st century.

In the words of Prof. Chua, “Electric theorists have been using the wrong pair of variables all these years – voltage and charge. The missing part of the electronic theory was that the fundamental pair of variables is flux and charge.” It is this theoretical assumption that allowed the researches in HP Labs to develop the Memristor. A memristor is composed of passive two-terminal circuit elements that are based on the relationship between current and voltage (their time integral). These elements produce a resistance which varies according to the “memristance” function of the device. These devices are engineered to provide controllable resistance for switching current. The memristor utilizes two of the four fundamental circuit variables; charge and flux, whereas the main postulate made by scientists up until now was mainly based on the assumption that passive circuitry relied on voltage and current. As technology developed where components continued to be reduced in size to a nanometre scale, strange inaccuracies inherent to electric circuitry began to surface and were discarded as simple anomalies. These inaccuracies are in fact attributed to the very function of a memristor; remembering the amount and the length of time that current has been passed through the circuit. The main importance of a memristor lies in its ability to not only vary its own resistance depending on the orientation of the flow of current but also to conserve its final resistance as the current is removed. In the words of Prof. Chua: “This new circuit element solves many problems with circuitry today – since it improves in performance as you scale it down to smaller and smaller sizes. Memristors will enable very small nanoscale devices to be made without generating all the excess heat that scaling down transistors is causing today.” R. Stanley Williams, a Senior Fellow at HP labs in Palo Alto, California believes that the memristor is going to be the building platform for devices that will operate similar to the synapses in a human brain. Using the memristor in its analog mode would yield a fairly accurate representation of a neural net.

There are in fact many lessons that we can learn from the emergence of such innovation. First and foremost, the increasing need for smaller and more compact technology has pushed researchers to pursue smaller-sized circuit boards making the discovery of the Memristor possible. This fact is analogous to the developing society of today where change is no longer brought about by large corporations or mutli-billion companies, but by distinguished individuals who were determined in accomplishing their goals. This demonstrates that the power lies in the hands of the little man; individuals and leaders of today. This becomes truer every day as real democracy emerges in developing countries where the power is given to the people, where a single vote can break the tide of war or hunger. As countries develop, and populations expand, it becomes necessary to recognize the individual contributions of each and every human being to his or her own community or organization. In the ever proliferating world of technology and communication, it becomes increasingly difficult to realize our individual potential when we are surrounded by clutter and an ever increasing amount of information. It is thus our responsibility and our duty to discover ourselves and achieve our full potential.

In order for any leader of the 21^st century to be able to be the best at what they are, they must, just like electrical circuits, be built upon the very basic building blocks of electrical engineering: resistors, capacitors and inductors.

A resistor is an electric component that opposes an electric current by producing a voltage drop between its terminals. Just the same, a leader must be able to channel positive energy through his team by filtering out the negativity and creating this “voltage drop”, a drop in tension between each team-member in order to be able to achieve peak performance. Positive thinking is what drives a team to success, and it requires vision and determination to achieve greatness. Only by keeping his focus on the goal will a great leader be able to overcome the negative energy that is involved in collaborative thinking.

A capacitor is a device that can store energy just the same as a battery in an electric field that is created by two plates (conductors). This process is known as storing energy by using electric charges of equal magnitude but opposite in polarity. A leader, just like a capacitor, must process an immense amount of information, must consider a various array of ideas and opinions, “equal in magnitude” and value, and yet often enough, “opposite in polarity” or meaning. A great leader must be able to consider all of his team-members opinions, no matter how dissimilar or contradicting they might be, and be able to come up with a compromise that will satisfy not only his team but will also yield the best result.

An inductor is a passive electronic component that exhibits properties of inductance. This property is an effect resulting from the formation of a magnetic field or flux proportional to the change in current as it is passed through a current carrying coil, also known as a conductor. Electromotive Force is then created which opposes this change in current. A magnetic flux created by the change in flow of current is representative of the open source information that is flowing through the greatest minds of today. As leaders of today, not only must we encourage this magnetic flux of intelligent ideas and insights, but we must realize that such flow can only be achieved through a change of current; realization and integration of various perspectives and ideas that will shape our society in the 21^st century.

Finally, as we enter into the 21^st century, new innovations such as the memristor, a revolutionary electronic component in electrical engineering, promise to change the shape of the future to come. Despite its short-term discovery, a memristor has already proven to be the key to the development of breakthrough and innovating computing. Its capacity to vary its resistance according to not only the magnitude and polarity of the charge mimics the necessary function that leaders of today must accomplish in an ever-changing world. Not only is there an enormous amount of information that is nearly without our reach, but there is also a need to be able to process this information with adequate consideration. Through social responsibility, we must analyze the reliability of such information with a critical eye, and be able to pass proper judgement on its credibility with variable “resistance”. A memristor also represents the intangible need for society to learn from its mistakes, to remember what type of mistakes we, as individuals, have committed and ensure that we do not repeat them. However, it is not only the lessons of our mistakes we must retain, but also the very accomplishments that helped shape the world as we know it today.