Circuits are everywhere. They’re old too. Electricity powers our automobiles, computers, and houses. 1800 saw the first basic circuit.
Circuits have changed little fundamentally in over 200 years. Inductors, capacitors, and resistors were used to store energy in magnetic, electric, and electrical fields, respectively.
After two centuries, circuits continue to amaze us.
In 2008, the memristor, a resistor with the “mem” prefix, was invented. Memcapacitors were discovered 11 years later.
Texas A&M discovered the meminductor, another novel circuit element. In a news release, H. Rusty Harris, a researcher who found this new component, said:
“Suddenly, we had three, but now we found these two others. So we thought, ‘OK, there’s got to be more then, but how can we grasp what they are? How do we arrange these things? And each resistor and capacitor family has a connection.
Researchers identified a “mem” signature inside the inductor, indicating its “mem-state,” or memory-like character.
The researchers used an electromagnet, two permanent magnets, and an inductor to measure the magnetic field density and strength to locate this element. The researchers found a “mem” signature inside the inductor, which led to its “mem-state, or memory-like nature, by the same definition that the memristor and memcapacitor were realized,” according to a news release.
This finding completes the predicted “mem” versions of common circuit components. The element is currently a normal inductor with meminductor behavior.
The team intends to enhance its discovery and create a more pure meminductor. Their research suggests doing this at extremely low temperatures.
However, the team is satisfied with their findings and methodology. “New discovery is exciting,” Harris stated in a press statement. “And the student-professor interaction on this project was beautiful.”
Even with 200-year-old circuitry, humans seem to be learning.