Putting a New Spin on Computing
*Physicists at the UA have achieved a breakthrough toward the development of a new breed of computing devices that can process data using less power.
In a recent publication in Physical Review Letters, physicists at the University of Arizona propose a way to translate the elusive magnetic spin of electrons into easily measurable electric signals. The finding is a key step in the development of computing based on spintronics, which doesn’t rely on electron charge to digitize information.
Unlike conventional computing devices, which require electric charges to flow along a circuit, spintronics harnesses the magnetic properties of electrons rather than their electric charge to process and store information. (more…)