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Fast, temporary memory where running programs live. Lost when power is cut.
Volatile, byte-addressable working memory used by running processes. Orders of magnitude faster than disk but loses contents on power loss. Sized in gigabytes on modern machines.
Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) implemented as a grid of capacitor cells, requiring periodic refresh. Accessed through a memory controller with row/column addressing. Latency ~50-100 ns; bandwidth tens of GB/s on modern DDR5.