-tron, -tronic, -tronics +
(Greek: a suffix referring to a device, tool, or instrument; more generally, used in the names of any kind of chamber or apparatus used in experiments)
A possible allusion to the Greek instrumental suffix, as in árotron, "plow" as spelled in the U.S. or "plough", as spelled by the British; from the Greek stem aroun, "to plow".
The suffix -tron is the result of the combining form extracted from electron, used with nouns or combining forms, principally in the names of electron tubes (ignitron; klystron; magnetron) and of devices for accelerating subatomic particles (cosmotron; cyclotron); also, more generally, in the names of any kind of chamber or apparatus used in experiments (biotron).
2. That point, in the real or apparent orbit of one star revolving around another (double-star systems), when the former star is nearest to the other star.
Photonics is an area of study centering around the generation and utilization of radiant energy; such as, light for various applications.
2. A controllable artificial environment used for the study of plants under well-defined conditions.
2. A small thin device (of metal, plastic, or ivory) used to pluck a stringed instrument.
2. A positively charged particle of the same mass and magnititude of charge as an electron; a positive electron.
2. A new technology exploiting quantum properties of electrons' spin for a new generation of electronic devices.
3. Known as "spin-based electronics" it is also known as magnetoelectronics and it is an emergent technology which exploits the quantum spin states of electrons as well as making use of their charge state.
Spintronics is an advanced form of electronics that harnesses not just the electrical charge of electrons; such as, in conventional electronics; but also a property called "spin" that makes electrons act like tine bar magnets.
Some computers already contain the first and most rudimentary commercial applications of spintronics. Since 1998, hard-drive read heads have used a spintronic effect called giant magnetoresistance to detect the microscopic magnetic domains on a disk that represent the 1's and the 0's of the data it contains.
- Electrons carry both charge and spin, but only spintronic devices exploit the two properties simultaneously to achieve innovative capabilities.
- Spintronics brings us disk-drive read heads and non-volatile memory chips today and perhaps instant-on computers with reconfigurable chips tomorrow.
- Synthetic semi-conducting diamond may be the new silicon for a future era of quantum spintronic technology that manipulates single spins, enabling quantum computers, and other quantum information devices.
The advantages of spintronics
- Very high densities of data storage on disk drives.
- Nonvolatile memory chips.
- "Instant-on" computers.
- Chips that both store and process data.
- Chips operating at higher speeds and consuming less power than current conventional ones.
- Chips with logic gates that can be reconfigured on the fly.
- Quantum cryptography and quantum computing at room temperature.
2. A type of cyclotron that synchronizes its accelerating voltage with particle velocity in order to compensate for the relativistic mass increase of the particle as it approaches the speed of light.
A cross reference of word units that are related, directly and/or indirectly, with "electricity": electro-; galvano-; hodo-; ion-; piezo-; volt; biomechatronics, info; mechatronics, info.
Related topics about "technology": Biometrics: Index; Biomimetics: Index; Biopiracy; Emerging Technologies; Geographic Information System (GIS): Index; Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS); Global Positioning System (GPS); Information Tech; Mechatronics; Nanotechnology; RFID; Robotics; Technological Breakthroughs; Technological Innovations; WAAS; Wireless Communications.