Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Researchers Spin Out Smaller Electronics Than Ever

Posted by Zonk on from the can-i-borrow-your-illustrated-primer dept.

schliz writes "Scientists have found a more efficient way to harness the spin of an electron to store and process information. The new technology, dubbed 'spintronics', has potentials in the development of nanoscale devices that are much more energy efficient than current charge-based electronic devices. Researchers expect the new technology to be incorporated in computing circuitry within the next decade."

1 of 45 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Fundamentals... by bh_doc · · Score: 4, Informative

    Last I checked, only politicians could change orientation without physically moving. . .
    "Electron spin" is a misnomer. The electron is not really spinning. This is just a name for the particular quantum mechanical property that causes the electron to deflect one way or another when travelling through a magnetic field.

    So, besides being wrong or misleading in other areas, the article is actually right about the electron not physically moving in order to change it's spin orientation. As has been pointed out, it does require energy, however. Supposedly this is less than the typically required voltage change.