cryotron

[ krahy-uh-tron ]

/ ˈkraɪ əˌtrɒn /

noun Electronics, Computers.

a cryogenic device that uses the principle that a varying magnetic field can cause the resistance of a superconducting element to change rapidly between its high normal and low superconductive values: used as a switch and as a computer-memory element.

Nearby words

cryostasis, cryostat, cryosurgery, cryotherapy, cryotolerant, cryotron, crypt, crypt abscesses, crypt of iris, crypt-, cryptaesthesia

Origin of cryotron

First recorded in 1955–60; cryo- + -tron

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cryotron

A cryotron unit has to be immersed at all times in a bath of liquid helium at a temperature of four-point-two degrees absolute.
Unwise Child|Gordon Randall Garrett
A cryotron functions only at temperatures near absolute zero.
Unwise Child|Gordon Randall Garrett

British Dictionary definitions for cryotron

cryotron

/ (ˈkraɪəˌtrɒn) /

noun

a miniature switch working at the temperature of liquid helium and depending for its action on the production and destruction of superconducting properties in the conductor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012