cryotron

noun

cry·​o·​tron

ˈkrīō‧ˌträn

plural -s

: a device performing some of the functions of an electron tube and consisting of a straight wire and another wire wound in a coil around it kept at a temperature near absolute zero, the straight wire being superconducting at the low temperature but becoming nonsuperconducting when a current passes through the coil wire

Word History

Etymology

cryo- + -tron

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