Computer memory

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Computer memory refers to devices that are used to store data or programs (sequences of instructions) on a temporary or permanent basis for use in an electronic digital computer. Computers represent information in binary code, written as sequences of 0s and 1s. Each binary digit (or "bit") may be stored by any physical system that can be in either of two stable states, to represent 0 and 1. Such a system is called bistable. This could be an on-off switch, an electrical capacitor that can store or lose a charge, a magnet with its polarity up or down, or a surface that can have a pit or not. Today capacitors and transistors, functioning as tiny electrical switches, are used for temporary storage, and either disks or tape with a magnetic coating, or plastic discs with patterns of pits are used for long-term storage.

Computer memory is usually meant to refer to the semiconductor technology that is used to store information in electronic devices. Current primary computer memory makes use of integrated circuits consisting of silicon-based transistors. There are two main types of memory: Volatile and Non-volatile.

For more information about Computer memory, read the full article at Wikipedia.
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News tagged with computer memory

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A Samsung Electronics' watch-shaped mobile phone

Samsung Electronics posts 'outstanding' Q2 results

Technology / Business

created Jul 24, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's leading computer memory chipmaker, on Friday posted what it called "outstanding" second-quarter results due to a recovery in prices and demand.


New memory material may hold data for one billion years

New memory material may hold data for one billion years

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created May 20, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (45) | comments 17

(PhysOrg.com) -- Packing more digital images, music, and other data onto silicon chips in USB drives and smart phones is like squeezing more strawberries into the same size supermarket carton. The denser you ...


Rambus says FTC has dropped antitrust claims

Technology / Business

created May 14, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- Rambus Inc. said Thursday that the Federal Trade Commission has dropped its claim that the memory chip company violated antitrust laws in patenting technologies that were eventually incorporated into industry standards.


Spirit Resumes Driving While Analysis of Problem Behaviors Continues

Spirit Resumes Driving While Analysis of Problem Behaviors Continues

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 24, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit drove on Thursday for the first time since April 8, acting on commands from engineers who are still investigating bouts of amnesia and other unusual behavior ...


Hynix reports sixth straight quarterly loss

Technology / Business

created Apr 24, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor, the world's second-largest computer memory chipmaker, Friday reported a sixth straight quarterly loss due to weak chip prices sparked by a global recession.


Samsung Electronics has announced its first-quarter net profit fell more than 70% year-on-year

Samsung Electronics reports 72% profit slump

Technology / Business

created Apr 24, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

South Korea's Samsung Electronics, the world's top computer memory chipmaker, has announced its first-quarter net profit fell 72 percent year-on-year as poor demand depressed prices.


Magnetic Vortex Switch Leads to Electric Pulse

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 08, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (8) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Arkansas have shown that changing the chirality, or direction of spin, of a nanoscale magnetic vortex creates an electric pulse, suggesting that such a pulse might be of use ...


Beating the back-up blues

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 03, 2009 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (12) | comments 10

That sinking feeling when your hard disk starts screeching and you haven't backed up your holiday photos is a step closer to becoming a thing of the past thanks to research into a new kind of computer memory.


Knowing when to fold: Engineers use 'nano-origami' to build tiny electronic devices (Video)

Knowing when to fold: Engineers use 'nano-origami' to build tiny electronic devices (Video)

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Feb 25, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (10) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Folding paper into shapes such as a crane or a butterfly is challenging enough for most people. Now imagine trying to fold something that's about a hundred times thinner than a human hair ...


Engineers revolutionize nano-device fabrication using amorphous metals

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Feb 11, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (7) | comments 1

Yale engineers have created a process that may revolutionize the manufacture of nano-devices from computer memory to biomedical sensors by exploiting a novel type of metal. The material can be molded like plastics to create ...