At 01:01 pm 17/05/2005 -0600, Don wrote: > The Hard Drive is on its way out .. Currently MRAM is the "NEW" replacement > technology > In the near future they will achieve Hard Drive densities > > http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=lang_en&c2coff=1&q=MRAM > > How MRAM Works > http://www.nve.com/otherbiz/mram.php > Data is written by a small electrical current which creates a magnetic field > which flips electron spins in a spin-dependent tunnel junction. Data is read > as the resistance of the junction. > > http://www.research.ibm.com/resources/news/20001207_mramimages.shtml > http://www.answers.com/topic/mram > > Also --- FeRAM > http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=lang_en&c2coff=1&q=FeRAM+ > http://www.eecg.toronto.edu/~ali/ferro/tutorial.html > > Also --- The Hybrid Hard Drive > http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=hybrid+hard+drive+&btnG=Google+Search > > -DonW-
Reading through the above references on Magnetoresistive Random Access Memories (MRAM), and how MRAM works, i.e. =================================================== Data is written by a small electrical current which creates a magnetic field which flips electron spins in a spin-dependent tunnel junction. Data is read as the resistance of the junction. =================================================== I couldn't but be struck by the insight on the nature of magnetism displayed by Howard Johnson, the inventor of the magnetic motor, etc. The best explanation I came across of his conceptualization of the nature of magnetism is the following by Tom Bearden with whose work I'm sure Vortexians will be familiar. ====================================================== Tom Bearden: Chasing the Wild Dragon ~ [Excerpts from http://www.rexresearch.com/johnson/www.cheniere.org ] Howard Johnson is also a respected colleague, whom I very much admire. (See Figure 23). Howard has continued to work quietly and patiently upon his patented permanent magnet motor, [note 31] including patenting various magnetic gates, etc. that are necessary to make such a motor work in a rotary configuration. [note 32] Howard employs a two-particle theory of magnetism; i.e., each magnetic flux line is envisioned as having a particle traveling from the north pole to the south pole, and also a particle traveling from the south pole to the north pole. The particles are spinning; the forward-time particle spins in one direction, and the antiparticle spins in the other direction. Howard then slightly separates the two particle flows. [note 33] In other words, Johnson splits the flux lines themselves, into two different pieces. When so separated, the component lines are now curls, so their paths curve. The paths of the two "curl particles" are different; one curls in one direction and the other curls in the opposite direction. Further, a predominance of one form of curl particle gives a "time-forward" aspect, while a predominance of the other form of curl particle gives a "time-reversed" aspect. Johnson is thus able to employ a deeper kind of magnetism than the textbooks presently contain. He demonstrates that a "spin-altered" magnetic assembly exhibiting (to a compass or other such detector) a north polarity can attract another unaltered magnetic assembly exhibiting a north polarity. In short, he can make a north pole attract a north pole. We will give you further insight into Johnson's two-particle theory in a future article. [note 34] We will also explain how and why the physicists missed that antiparticle in the magnetic field's flux lines, and thereby failed to advance the theory of magnetism to a deeper level. Make no mistake, one day when the new theory is done, Johnson may well be awarded a Nobel Prize for his epochal discovery of a deeper structure of magnetism. ====================================================== It will be seen that Johnson's insights take the spin-up spin-down feature of MRAM to vastly different orders of magnitude, or rather minitude if I can be forgiven the neologism. 8-) In effect he treats the electron as a real turbine spewing forth real fluid particles. This is so out of tune with current ideas that it is no wonder so little progress has been made in harvesting the manifest opportunities in zero point energy. Elsewhere, Johnson draws very cogent parallels between ferromagnetism and superconductivity. ================================================ For example, Johnson argues that the magnetic forces in a permanent magnet represent super- conductance that is akin to phenomena normally associated only with extremely cold superconducting systems. He argues that a magnet is a room temperature superconducting system because the electron flow does not cease, and because this electron flow can be made to do work. And for those who pooh- pooh the idea that permanent magnets do work, Johnson has an answer: "You come along with a magnet and pick up a piece of iron, then some physicist says you didn't do any work because you used that magnet. But you moved a mass through a distance. Right? That's work that requires energy. Or you can hold one magnet in the air indefinitely by positioning it over another magnet with like poles facing. The physicist will argue that because it involves magnetic repulsion, no work is done. Yet if you support the same object with air, they will agree in a minute that work is done!" ================================================ Funnily enough I made exactly the same point about "conservative" fields doing work in a recent post to the Beta-atmosphere Yahoo group. As regards whether the work one can extract from permanent magnets is limited to the domain strain or the deeper level electron up/down asymmetry, the following excerpt is relevant. ================================================= There's no doubt in Johnson's mind that he has succeeded in extracting usable energy from the atoms of permanent magnets. But does that imply that the electron spins and associated phenomena that he thinks provide this power will eventually be used up? Johnson makes no pretense of knowing the answer: I didn't start the electron spins, and I don't know any way to stop them - do you? They may eventually stop, but that is not my problem." ================================================= The trouble is, the mechanism of MRAM suggests that ferro- magnetism is dependent not so much on electron spin, but on the asymmetry between spin-up and spin-down. On the face of it that asymmetry can indeed be used up. This may well account for the failure to produce a commercially viable magnetic motor. Cheers Frank Grimer
