Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!qantel!hplabs!sri-unix!BARD@MIT-XX.ARPA
From: BARD@MIT-XX.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Smallest Possible Memory Element
Message-ID: <430@sri-arpa.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 20-Jul-85 21:14:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.430
Posted: Sat Jul 20 21:14:27 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 25-Jul-85 04:13:15 EDT
Lines: 15

From:  Bard Bloom 

{ re: a message saying that the smallest possible memory element is a 
single electron, using its spin to hold a bit }

> there is a problem here.  according to Heisenberg, reading a file
> would irreversibly garble it.

A minor problem.  Read it; make a copy of it on some more stable substance,
like a disk or vellum parchment or RAM, copy that copy back to the electrons,
and use the stable copy.  The intermediate steps are easy.  Reading and writing
electron spins are left as an exercise for the reader
 
-- Bard --
-------