Tag Archives: ee

The Status of Moore’s Law: It’s Complicated

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Kahng says chipmakers may face a more immediate struggle with wiring in just a few years as they attempt to push chip density down past the 10-nm generation. Each copper wire requires a sheath containing barrier material to prevent the metal from leaching into surrounding material, as well as insulation to prevent it from interacting with neighboring wires. To perform effectively, this sheath must be fairly thick. This thickness limits how closely wires can be pushed together and forces the copper wires to shrink instead, dramatically driving up the resistance and delays and drastically lowering performance. Although researchers are exploring alternative materials, it’s unclear, Kahng says, whether they will be ready in time to keep up with Moore’s Law’s steady pace.

via The Status of Moore’s Law: It’s Complicated – IEEE Spectrum.

Simple technique puts graphene capacitors on par with lead-acid battery

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The resulting material displays all the electrical properties associated with a capacitor, meaning that it can charge and discharge its full capacity almost instantly. But it has a storage density that’s right at the low-end of the range seen in lead-acid batteries. It’s also stable over multiple charge/discharge cycles and holds on to 90 percent of its capacity even after being charged for 300 hours straight.

via Simple technique puts graphene capacitors on par with lead-acid battery | Ars Technica.

Tiny, cheap, and dangerous: Inside a (fake) iPhone charger

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I recently wrote a popular article on the history of computer power supplies, which led to speculation on what’s inside those amazingly small one-inch cube USB chargers sold by Apple, Samsung, RIM, and other companies. In the interest of science, I bought a cheap no-name cube charger off eBay for $2.79, and took it apart. It’s amazing that manufacturers can build and sell a complex charger for just a few dollars. It looks a lot like a genuine Apple charger and cost a lot less. But looking inside, I found that important safety corners were cut, which could lead to a 340 volt surprise. In addition, the interference from a cheap charger like this can cause touchscreen malfunctions. Thus, I recommend spending a few dollars more to get a brand-name charger.

via Ken Shirriff’s blog: Tiny, cheap, and dangerous: Inside a (fake) iPhone charger.

Quantum-Tunneling Electrons Could Make Semiconductors Obsolete

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In traditional circuits, transistors are laid down in a bed of silicon that acts as an insulator to prevent crosstalk between circuits. In circuits based on quantum tunneling, silicon is replaced by nanotubes made of boron nitride and electrical pathways consisting of quantum dots—carefully placed bits of gold as small as three nanometers across (PDF).

via Quantum-Tunneling Electrons Could Make Semiconductors Obsolete.

Intel’s Haswell Takes A Major Step Forward; Integrates Voltage Regulator

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Haswell incorporates a refined VRM on-die that allows for multiple voltage rails and controls voltage for the CPU, on-die GPU, system I/O, integrated memory controller, as well as several other functions. Intel refers to this as a FIVR (Fully Integrated Voltage Regulator), and it apparently eliminates voltage ripple and is significantly more efficient than your traditional motherboard VRM. Added bonus? It’s 1/50th the size.

via Intel’s Haswell Takes A Major Step Forward; Integrates Voltage Regulator – HotHardware.

Turning a standard LCD monitor into touchscreen with a $5 wall-mounted sensor

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Now, by plugging an EMI sensor into any wall socket, you can read your house’s EM signature — and if you continue to listen, you can detect changes in the signature. Obvious changes occur when a device is switched on or off, but it also turns out that simply moving your hand close to an LCD monitor also alters your house’s EM signature. It might sound a bit unbelievable, that a single finger moving towards an LCD monitor can be detected by a sensor at the other end of the house, but that’s exactly what the University of Washington researchers have accomplished.

via Turning a standard LCD monitor into touchscreen with a $5 wall-mounted sensor | ExtremeTech.

Power company says Super Bowl blackout was caused by device designed to prevent power outages

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In a follow-up statement, Entergy said that tests conducted by S&C and Entergy on the two relays at the Superdome showed that one worked as expected, the other did not.

via Power company says Super Bowl blackout was caused by device designed to prevent power outages – The Washington Post.

I would hope most devices in the distribution of power are designed to prevent outages.

Highly charged – the US Navy’s electromagnetic railgun programme

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Railguns consist of two parallel metal rails, between which a projectile held in an armature is loaded, completing a circuit between them. A massive electrical current of the order of one million amperes is applied, creating an electromagnetic field, which in turn produces a force that accelerates the projectile along the rails.

via Highly charged – the US Navy’s electromagnetic railgun programme – Naval Technology.

Railgun projectiles are generally non-explosive, relying on their enormous speed to destroy the target and thus reducing the risk of a fire on board a ship, and comparatively small and lightweight, so they can be more readily transported and stored. The kinetic energy they deliver could do as much damage as a Tomahawk missile, enabling them to travel clean through a ship.

Kinetic Energy = 1/2 * mass * velocity squared.   KE=1/2mv^2

New Study Reinforces Case for DC Power Savings

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But advocates of DC power continue to make the case for direct current distribution in data centers. The recent Data Center Efficiency Summit featured a case study showing gains over AC systems, and discussion of whether global efforts to establish a standard for 380 volt systems might build momentum for DC power.

via New Study Reinforces Case for DC Power Savings » Data Center Knowledge.