Exploiting Memristors and The Local Activity Principle
Abstract
This proposal articulates 8 interdisciplinary research projects which exploit the disruptive potentials of the memristor, and the stunning implications of the local activity principle, a.k.a., a new law of thermodynamics. The scope of the research proposal includes non-volatile memories, exotic higher-order circuit elements, memristor-based neuromorphic cellular neural networks, information processing via microtubules, riddle basins of attraction, memristor-based spatial-temporal pattern formulation, quantum consciousness, and the sharp edge of chaos. Both the memristor and the local activity principle are discoveries and not inventions. Most inventions became obsolete over time because they were rendered obsolete by subsequent inventions that outperform them. In contrast, discoveries are timeless, because they represent laws of nature. Indeed, Columbus did not invent America, but Columbus discovered America. In this sense, memristor is not an electronic device, but rather a conceptual creation that was rendered practical through the invention by HP in 2008 of a nano-electronic device that exhibits the fingerprints of a memristor. Although the great excitements generated by the HP memristor is the memristor’s innate attribute as non-volatile memories, which would greatly reduce the power consumption of future high-tech electronic gadgets, such as the smart phones, PC’s, etc., the real significance of the memristor is that both the synapses and axons in our brain are in fact also memristors. The local activity principle discovered in Chua’s laboratory in Berkeley provides the missing mechanism that would allow entropy in physical systems to increases over time. It is the perfect complement of the time-honored second law of thermodynamics. The flood gate for unraveling numerous hitherto unsolved problems from numerous disciplines, such as pattern formation, chemical reaction, autocatalysis, self-organization, etc., is now open.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 09, 2018
- Source ID
- FA95501810016
Entities
People
- Leon O. Chua
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of California Regents