Skip to main content

Researchers are looking at using T-rays to speed up computer memory

It’s easy to forget sometimes that these magical machines we use are the result of some pretty complicated science. Underneath the shiny user interfaces and first person shooters and productivity apps lies the fundamental laws of physics, mathematics, and chemistry. Accordingly, advances in things like processor speed and storage capacity come from basic advances in our understand of how the world works.

Recently, some scientists parlayed their work on such fundamental science into a purely theoretical — but potentially massive — increase in the speed of personal computer memory, as Engadget reports. The researchers, hailing from Europe and Russia, are looking into how terahertz radiation, or T-rays, could speed up how quickly memory cells can be reset and ready for reuse by 1,000 times.

Recommended Videos

According to the scientists, the theoretical result of using T-rays instead of magnetic fields, used by today’s technology, for memory switching would be seriously fast memory that would significantly speed up personal computer performance. Today, memory speeds are a serious limitation relative to modern processor performance, and so such a breakthrough would be a tremendous benefit to all kinds of high-performance computing applications.

Today, T-rays are being researched for use in a number of imaging applications such as scanning for concealed weapons and for safer medical imaging, along with a variety of communications and manufacturing purposes. T-rays are of particular interest for such applications because they lie in the radiation spectrum between microwave and infrared radiations, and are non-ionizing and thus not destructing to various materials including human body tissue.

The research so far on using T-rays for computing application is still in its initial stages, and so we’re not likely to enjoy any benefits any time soon. Whenever the new technology does make its way to PCs, however, we’ll see significantly faster machines that are far more capable of fully leveraging advances in processor performance for things like advanced data modeling and virtual reality.

Mark Coppock
Mark Coppock is a Freelance Writer at Digital Trends covering primarily laptop and other computing technologies. He has…
The robot takeover comes another step closer — at Amazon
An Amazon robot working inside one of the company's warehouses.

Amazon is close to having more robots operating inside its warehouses than humans after the e-commerce giant announced this week that it now has more than a million robots working at its facilities around the world.

Over the years, Amazon has spent billions of dollars on the development and deployment of warehouse-based robots, which handle an array of tasks once performed by human workers.

Read more
This Lenovo ThinkPad laptop is over $1,400 off — hurry while stocks last!
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 Intel laptop on a white background.

Now's an excellent time to take advantage of laptop deals from Lenovo, which has slashed the prices of a wide range of devices for its Black Friday in July sale. Lenovo's ThinkPad laptops are up to 45% off, and here's one of the most interesting offers available with such a discount — the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 at $1,440 off its estimated value of $3,199, so you'll only have to pay $1,759. That's an excellent price for this fantastic productivity tool, but you're going to have to push forward with your purchase as soon as possible because stocks may run out at any moment.

BUY NOW

Read more
Early Prime Day deal: Samsung’s 27-inch Odyssey G3 at its annual low price
Samsung Odyssey G3 gaming monitor on desk with keyboard and headset.

If you're ready to upgrade your monitor, this Samsung deal over at Amazon just might be your best bet. The 27-inch version of Samsung's Odyssey G3 is $130 right now, a full $100 off its regular $230 price and its lowest price of the year. It's a part of early Prime Day deals and a good sampling of what we can expect for the shopping holiday, which officially lands on July 8th. Tap the button below to see it for yourself or keep reading to see why we like this deal and why this should be your next monitor.

Buy Now

Read more