A 37 year old theory is coming to reality for developers at Hewlett-Packard. A memory circuit capable of remembering past patterns of data and how they were collected is on the horizon. It will feature low energy usage and fast activation time.

Stanley Williams, senior fellow at HP explains about the Memristor:

“Because it [uses] less voltage and less time, of course, it uses much less power,”

The Memristor joins the resistor, capacitor and inductor but, can do more than all three together by far.

“It is as fundamental to electronic engineering as a chemical element is to chemistry or an electron is to physics,” Williams continues.

The memory is created when a charge is applied to blocks of titanium dioxide. The resistance changes based on how much current is coming in. When the current is stopped the memory remains from the information it was sent.

Currently, HP is still working on the prototype of the Memristor but scientists expect that it could be ready for the market in as little as five years.