The singing arc: the oldest memristor?

TL;DR

This paper suggests that the singing arc, an early device used in wireless telegraphy, can be considered the oldest memristor due to its similar properties, highlighting its historical significance in circuit element discovery.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis between the singing arc and the memristor, proposing the singing arc as the earliest example of a memristor-like device.

Findings

The singing arc exhibits properties similar to memristors.

Historical analysis links the singing arc to the concept of memristance.

The singing arc predates the formal definition of the memristor.

Abstract

On April 30th 2008, the journal Nature announced that the missing circuit element, postulated thirty-seven years before by Professor Leon O. Chua has been found. Thus, after the capacitor, the resistor and the inductor, the existence of a fourth fundamental element of electronic circuits called "memristor" was established. In order to point out the importance of such a discovery, the aim of this article is first to propose an overview of the manner with which the three others have been invented during the past centuries. Then, a comparison between the main properties of the singing arc, i.e. a forerunner device of the triode used in Wireless Telegraphy, and that of the memristor will enable to state that the singing arc could be considered as the oldest memristor.