Dynamic RAM

Dynamic RAM ('dynamic random-access memory'), usually abbreviated as DRAM, is currently the ubiquitous memory technology used for main memory in computers.

It consists of an array of small capacitors; the presence, or absence, of a charge (stored electrons) in a particular capacitor represents the storage of a '1' or '0' bit. Over time, the charge dissipates as the electrons slowly leak away, so it must be refreshed on a regular basis; typically in the low numbers of milliseconds.

DRAM is also volatile; it loses its contents if power is cut off.

Contemporary DRAM is implemented in integrated circuits, but very early DRAM implementations used discrete components. The very first digital electronic computing device, the Atanasoff-Berry Computer, used a form of DRAM for its primary memory.