Memristor

A component whose resistance depends on the history of current flow — enabling memory and processing in the same physical element.

The memristor (“memory resistor”) is the fourth fundamental circuit element, predicted by Chua in 1971 and demonstrated by HP in 2008. Its state-dependent resistance makes it ideal for implementing synaptic weights in neuromorphic hardware.

Systems Connection

A memristor is a component whose state (resistance) is path-dependent — it remembers its history. This makes it a natural analog for biological synapses, where connection strength changes based on past activity. Arrays of memristors enable in-memory computing: the structure that stores weights also performs computation.

See Also

• Neuromorphics — parent domain
• Neuromorphic Hardware — systems using memristors
• Synaptic Plasticity — what memristors implement