ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

what is the dram cell made of?

Okay kiddo, let me try to explain what a dram cell is and what it's made of. A dram cell is a tiny little thingy inside your computer that helps it remember things. Sort of like a notepad, but really small and really fast. The cell is made up of two main parts: a capacitor and a transistor.

The capacitor is kind of like a tiny little bucket. It can hold an electrical charge, which is like a little bit of electricity. Once it's charged up, it can stay that way for a little while, but it doesn't last forever. It'll eventually leak out and the capacitor will be empty again.

That's where the transistor comes in. A transistor is like a little switch. It can turn on and off really fast, which is perfect for working with that capacitor. When the transistor is turned on, it lets the charge from the capacitor flow into a wire. When it's turned off, the charge stays in the capacitor.

So, when your computer needs to remember something, it tells the dram cell to store it. The transistor turns on, which sends the charge from the capacitor through the wire and into the computer's memory. Then the transistor turns off, leaving the charge in the capacitor. To read what's stored, the transistor turns on again, letting the charge flow out of the capacitor and into the computer.

And that's basically how a dram cell works! It's made up of a little capacitor that can store an electrical charge and a transistor that can turn on and off really fast to control that charge.