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Researchers Make RAM From a Phase Change We Don't Entirely Understand (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: We seem to be on the cusp of a revolution in storage. Various technologies have been demonstrated that have speed approaching that of current RAM chips but can hold on to the memory when the power shuts off -- all without the long-term degradation that flash experiences. Some of these, like phase-change memory and Intel's Optane, have even made it to market. But, so far at least, issues with price and capacity have kept them from widespread adoption. But that hasn't discouraged researchers from continuing to look for the next greatest thing. In this week's edition, a joint NIST-Purdue University team has used a material that can form atomically thin sheets to make a new form of resistance-based memory. This material can be written in nanoseconds and hold on to that memory without power. The memory appears to work via a fundamentally different mechanism from previous resistance-RAM technologies, but there's a small hitch: we're not actually sure how it works. The two mechanisms used to change the resistance have been reported in the journal Nature Materials.
So they switched substrates from unobtanium to unexplanium?
we're not actually sure how it works.
Call it ERAM aka Emo RAM because "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME AT ALL!" ;)
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Perhaps especially in the field of medicine and pharmaceuticals, there are plenty of products that we see working, but nobody knows exactly how.
Wikipedia has an entire category for just that:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
That form of matter has a name - toilet paper.
We are tasty to them maybe?
http://progressquest.com/spoltog.php?name=Son+Of+Son+Of+DarkRookie
Generally, we don't care about RAM holding its state beyond a power cycle
This is because our systems are designed with the assumption that RAM is volatile.
If RAM held its value, there would be no need to have a distinction between RAM and "Disk". Computers would boot far faster. Databases would be right on the memory bus, with no need to "sync" to reliable storage. Many, many applications and services could be faster, simpler and more reliable.
honestly, flash degradation hasn't been an issue in RAM modules, since, forever. In flash storage, the degradation hasn't been shown to be much of an issue with MLC let alone SLC drives.
Flash degradation is not a problem because Flash is only used in applications where the degradation won't be a problem. If a Flash replacement can be faster and have unlimited write cycles, then there will be many, many applications for it that Flash can't fulfill.
Sounds like regular engineering to me!
"I made something awesome, no idea how it works, but it does - don't touch it! You'll break it!"
There are at least 12 form factors (AT, baby AT, ATX,Micro ATX BTX DTX LPX NLX Micro ATX, Mini-ITX, Nano-ITX, Pico-ITX) thatr I know of, plus numerous proprietary form factors in the SBC segment. The industry came up with those because it was useful to them to do so. Nobody forced them to and nothing stops anyone from coming up with their own form factor or proprietary extensions to existing standards. Those standards and the minimum level of interoperability are a big part of why digital technology saw such an explosion in my lifetime.
Let's look at this from both sides of the purchase: Would you want to buy a Dell tower if you knew that only Dell branded add-ons will work with it? Dell proprietary memory, Dell proprietary video card, Dell proprietary cases, Dell proprietary network cards, Dell proprietary storage and so on. We had just that situation back when I was first learning computers. With rare exceptions, hardware for a Burroughs computer had to come from Burroughs, Philips hardware had to come from Philips and so on. No single OEM aside from maybe IBM, could really achieve economies of scale, all the OEMs R&D was restricted by the need to not infringe on patented good ideas from other outfits. Shit was expensive, shit didn't work all that well, shit was difficult to adapt to user needs and it was hard to make shit talk to other shit reliably. Through sheer size, IBM managed to dominate the market and some of the early desktop standards were explicitly "IBM compatible"
On the manufacturer end, being able to use an existing hardware standard also means they are more likely to be able to use standard software implementations as well. That speeds development time and reduces R&D costs. Why re-invent the network stack, possibly introducing your own failure points, when there is already a very good, exhaustively examined and tested standard? If you make sounds cards (or these days, dedicated sound processors for inclusion in someone else's motherboard) do you really want to have to develop to meet 20 different hardware standards to match every mobo manufacturers proprietary designs, or would you prefer to just develop to the PCI standard and be able to make one device that works for almost everybody?
Finally, proprietary motherboard designs are still alive and well in the industrial/embedded segments and in laptops and other mobile devices. There the form factor is constrained by physical environment and case packaging concerns, not meeting form factor standards. What IS still being develop to standard in those markets is the interfaces. Most notebooks use the same sorts of ram, albeit with a different size and pin count, as desktop machines. They still do standard ethernet, bluetooth and so on. Also, as far as I know, Big Iron (mainframes and other very large scale computing solutions) is still largely proprietary.
I need a wheelchair van for my son. Help me get the word out. https://www.gofundme.com/wheelchair-van-for-jj
You know that system that is behaving badly and just seems to work again the minute you reboot? That might not work if engineers get non-volatile RAM to work really well. Everything will be in memory with no need to load it off disk. But those slow memory leaks, weird data corruption bugs, or software that stops working when it gets into a certain state; will not just magically disappear when you reboot!
The last recorded words of the human civilization will be: "Wonder what happens if we push this button?"
My money's on "hold my beer!"
#DeleteChrome
Technologically advanced does not mean that they will be morally advanced according to our standards of morals. Why would you expect technologically advanced alien civilizations to be morally better than us when technologically advanced civilizations on Earth haven't always been morally better than other civilizations.
We have memories that we don't know how they work, perhaps they will be a good fit for quantum computing where we only probably know what they are going to do.
Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
Sadly, you're probably correct insomuch as anyone on /. who cares about such things already knows this stuff is going on. So those who don't care will skip it and those who do care *may* skip it, or at best skim it because I'm preaching to the choir...
I need a wheelchair van for my son. Help me get the word out. https://www.gofundme.com/wheelchair-van-for-jj
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...' Isaac Asimov
Perhaps especially in the field of medicine and pharmaceuticals, there are plenty of products that we see working, but nobody knows exactly how.
Wikipedia has an entire category for just that:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
In fact, I used to joke that the Physician's Desk Reference (standard Reference book for Pharmaceuticals) could be printed on two sides of a piece of letter-sized paper if they just reduced the phrase "The exact mechanism of this compound is not completely understood." to a single symbol...
Some of us read it in full. Thank you for taking the time to compose a well-thought-out post.