<s>
The	O
magnetically	O
sensitive	O
transistor	B-Application
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
spin	B-General_Concept
transistor	I-General_Concept
or	O
spintronic	O
transistor	B-Application
—	O
named	O
for	O
spintronics	O
,	O
the	O
technology	O
which	O
this	O
development	O
spawned	O
)	O
,	O
originally	O
proposed	O
in	O
1990	O
by	O
Supriyo	O
Datta	O
and	O
Biswajit	O
Das	O
,	O
currently	O
still	O
being	O
developed	O
,	O
is	O
an	O
improved	O
design	O
on	O
the	O
common	O
transistor	B-Application
invented	O
in	O
the	O
1940s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
spin	B-General_Concept
transistor	I-General_Concept
comes	O
about	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
research	O
on	O
the	O
ability	O
of	O
electrons	O
(	O
and	O
other	O
fermions	O
)	O
to	O
naturally	O
exhibit	O
one	O
of	O
two	O
(	O
and	O
only	O
two	O
)	O
states	O
of	O
spin	O
:	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
spin	O
up	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
spin	O
down	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
,	O
spin	B-General_Concept
transistors	I-General_Concept
operate	O
on	O
electron	O
spin	O
as	O
embodying	O
a	O
two-state	O
quantum	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
its	O
namesake	O
predecessor	O
,	O
which	O
operates	O
on	O
an	O
electric	O
current	O
,	O
spin	B-General_Concept
transistors	I-General_Concept
operate	O
on	O
electrons	O
on	O
a	O
more	O
fundamental	O
level	O
;	O
it	O
is	O
essentially	O
the	O
application	O
of	O
electrons	O
set	O
in	O
particular	O
states	O
of	O
spin	O
to	O
store	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
advantage	O
over	O
regular	O
transistors	B-Application
is	O
that	O
these	O
spin	O
states	O
can	O
be	O
detected	O
and	O
altered	O
without	O
necessarily	O
requiring	O
the	O
application	O
of	O
an	O
electric	O
current	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
for	O
detection	O
hardware	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
heads	I-Device
)	O
that	O
are	O
much	O
smaller	O
but	O
even	O
more	O
sensitive	O
than	O
today	O
's	O
devices	O
,	O
which	O
rely	O
on	O
noisy	O
amplifiers	O
to	O
detect	O
the	O
minute	O
charges	O
used	O
on	O
today	O
's	O
data	B-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
devices	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
increased	O
sensitivity	O
of	O
spin	B-General_Concept
transistors	I-General_Concept
is	O
also	O
being	O
researched	O
in	O
creating	O
more	O
sensitive	O
automotive	O
sensors	O
,	O
a	O
move	O
being	O
encouraged	O
by	O
a	O
push	O
for	O
environmentally	O
friendlier	O
vehicles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
second	O
advantage	O
of	O
a	O
spin	B-General_Concept
transistor	I-General_Concept
is	O
that	O
the	O
spin	O
of	O
an	O
electron	O
is	O
semi-permanent	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
means	O
of	O
creating	O
cost-effective	O
non-volatile	B-General_Concept
solid	B-Device
state	I-Device
storage	I-Device
that	O
does	O
not	O
require	O
the	O
constant	O
application	O
of	O
current	O
to	O
sustain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
technologies	O
being	O
explored	O
for	O
Magnetic	B-General_Concept
Random	I-General_Concept
Access	I-General_Concept
Memory	I-General_Concept
(	O
MRAM	B-General_Concept
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
its	O
high	O
potential	O
for	O
practical	O
use	O
in	O
the	O
computer	O
world	O
,	O
spin	B-General_Concept
transistors	I-General_Concept
are	O
currently	O
being	O
researched	O
in	O
various	O
firms	O
throughout	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
in	O
England	O
and	O
in	O
Sweden	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Recent	O
breakthroughs	O
have	O
allowed	O
the	O
production	O
of	O
spin	B-General_Concept
transistors	I-General_Concept
,	O
using	O
readily	O
available	O
substances	O
,	O
that	O
can	O
operate	O
at	O
room	O
temperature	O
:	O
a	O
precursor	O
to	O
commercial	O
viability	O
.	O
</s>
