ninAlias's Limit Point

2009-07-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I did some thinking about how I will go about finding the parameters for my simplified transistor models.

To find the oxide capacitance, simply drive a known width, known length transistor with a current source. Tie the drain and source voltages to be appropriate to not have a body effect, and let the gate voltage have the appropriate starting condition.

The NMOS case is shown below:

The calculation for the ocide capacitance follows:

Then to find the other parameters, tie the drain, source, and gate voltages to bunches of different values and measure the drain source currents.

We then find the best fit values for the x's based on our data points for a particular Vd. After that, the rest can be quite simple....

2009-07-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

Now that I have Electric installed, I need to go through the various tutorials.

Once that is done, the first order of business is to empirically find out a few values of great importance.

Critical Field Strength
Oxide Capacitance
Saturation Velocity
Effective mobility
Nominal Threshold Voltage

I will need to find these for both NMOS and PMOS.

2009-07-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

I've decided I don't want to loose my circuit design skills, if my new job is software related.

So I have conceived of the following project:

Design a super fast chip with multiple processors (perhaps with PDP-8 like instructions), with super fast, L1 and L2 caches made with 6-T SRAM, with many ports and queues. This will really test out my abilities. A lot of trade offs to consider for optimum circuit speed.
Have a PCI-E interface on chip, and have a really dumb driver that allows for direct access to the caches and code-streams for the processors. Cache coherency and instruction sequencing will be the responsibility of the programmer.
Of course, I will then have to put it on a card, and that will refresh my PCB skills from a long time ago.
Do a MOSIS run to create the chips, and I will need to get a cheap motherboard that supports PCI, with a cheap processor. I can then code programs to run massively parallel calculations like Black-Scholes, LU Factorization, Fast Fourier Transforms, SVD computations, and a whole school of such things on my PCI-E card.
I will likely run Ubuntu on the system, meaning I will need to learn how to write Ubuntu drivers.
Another nice challenge will be to see if I can convert some Apache Licence software to use my card to improve performance. I think the database, especially, can benefit from my MP-PCI card.
Also, it will be fun to so some architectural modeling to see the trade offs between number of processors vs. cache etc. In addition, the circuit trade offs between power and speed, latch based design vs. domino vs CML vs. other logic families will be intense.

This is going to be very fun...but really expensive. Maybe I can take a class at Sac. State that puts runs through MOSIS.

I already downloaded Electric, MVSIS, and Dragon. I need to evaluate free simulators. I may just use the student version of Modelsim, but that would ruin any chance of me selling these cards. Making money isn't the point though.

Reviewing Basic Special Relativity

2009-03-07T10:10:00.000-08:00

So, it didn't take very long to review the math needed to understand Maxwell's equations. I think I have a good grasp of the basic (though, as with mechanics, I will need more practice).

So on to special relativity. It has been a while since I took my modern physics course, but luckily Wikipedia, once again, has what I need for a basic review.

Of course, let's start with the all-important Lorentz Factor:

Then the simple Lorentz Transformation for an inertial reference frame moving in the x direction...

Which yeilds time-dialation, and length-contraction in the direction of motion...

Which of-course has the inverse...

We also get the new way to add velocities...

And, we need definitions of Energy and momentum that'll be conserved...

We also need an reference frame invariant way to define "mass"...

If we try to relate the velocity four-vector to the momentun four-vector to get the analogous equation to the non-relativistic we have...

Which leads to the famous equations...

Giving back our definitions of Energy and momentum. Cool huh?

But that was just a small digression from the straight summary of the basics (i.e. Special Relativity without the formalism)

So what do we have left? Force of course. Which has quite a large number of forms.

We start with the definition that keeps...

...and just crank out from there...

Since , we have...

We can split that into components of acceleration, thus...

Well, that should cover the basics...well, there is Kinetic Energy. Real quick...

Let's look at the integral:

This allows us to conclude:

Well, that last bit was ugly, but the result was simple enough.

All this is a bit much for me to digest. But I think I got most of this (excepting maybe exactly knowing when to use inveriant mass, relativistic mass, or rest mass--but I'll figure it out).

After, I digest this stuff, it may be time to move to the formalism.

Re-Learning the Theories of Electricity and Magnatism

2009-03-06T03:18:00.001-08:00

I am now in the process of changing from Engineer to Physicist. So, and reviewing a lot of my physics. It'll be a long road, and I will being going back to undergrad to do it.

The laws of mechanics are straight forward enough.

Newton's second law:

Which is equivalent to the basic law in Lagrangian Mechanics:

Which is in-turn equivalent to the basic law's in Hamiltonian Mechanics:

Certainly, there are a lot of special cases to consider, the work energy theorem, the notion of conservative forces, etc. --I need plenty of practice, in addition.

But I will now focus on Electricity and magnetism, since it is used as a model to thing about many of the big problems in physics.

The laws themselves are plenty....

There are the four equations for free charges:

Then the two new equations for total charge:

Beyond that each one has an integral form:

Beyond that, we need to comrehend that:

There is all that funkiness with the units of current density, magnetizing field, electric displacement field, electric field, and magnetic field. The accounting for that is something I don't have straight yet--not even conceptually.

Mathematically, I need to review the meaning of the div and curl, as well as integrating over lines and surfaces.

Beyond that, there is the task of learning how special relativity plays into things, and learning the covariant formlation of clasical electromagnatism. But I suppose the last part can come while I try to tackle special relativity in full-form.

So much to learn and so little time.

Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW)

2008-08-12T03:43:00.000-07:00

So I know there are a lot of skeptics of AGW, but I am still fairly certain that the prevailing viewpoint holds that AGW is real.

In my opinion, the negative effects of pollution are obvious whether or not AGW is real.

Also, many of the soulutions offered (alternative enegry, energy concervation, more energy efficient trasportation) are also good things whether or not AGW is real.

Still, I found a couple of good sources discussing the current scientific viewpoint.

The Royal Society of the UK provides a very simple guide.

The American Institute of Physics has an amazingly comprehensive source.

A Strange Dream

2008-08-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

I had a dream last night that I was a very successful business-man who made a lot of money on investments and trading. I was also, for some reason, and African American named Dwayne Wade.

I was approached by an old friend who had now become the principal at my old high school (my actual high school) about investing a small fraction of the schools funds. Somehow I was able to convince the county to invest a good portion of their funds, and the funds of any of the teachers, and principals who wanted it, in my new hedge fund for public schools.

I was very proud. This county was not going to have budget problems in short order. But then I got real nervous. What if state workers, being the non-investors they typically were, started demanding that I invest things in a certain way, or start pulling their money out in a panic. I would not be able to time trades at all.

So I made a deal. I would end the hedge fund if anyone pulled out their money within a year, or if anyone demanded that their funds be invested or not invested in certain ways ever. It was to be part of the contract. Somehow people agreed.

Later, there were old teachers who would come in wanting to invest, and would say things like, "don't invest my whole income just a small portion" (apparently the state had decided to automatically put part of their income into my fund). I informed them that they would have to talk to the state or county people to deal with that. I felt sorry for that. Since they likely wanted all their concerns addressed by a single person.

That's when I woke up. I don't know how I would have handled the situation. I would probably have made sure next time that a representative from the automatic withdrawal program is at the customer relations office when taking investment requests.

Are Journalists Science Dopes?

2008-08-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

Richard Feynman said something to that effect once....at least about a particular journalist. I watched a clip of the Today Show where an economics professor was making medal predictions. A few things annoyed me.

1) He wasn't allowed to finish even the basic explanation, before interupted by blabbering of how confusing it was.

2) Then there was a joke about "decoding" this rather simple formula.

And to top it off, the graphic included used the U.S. flag for Germany.

Communication Skills Found Wanting

2008-08-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

I read my older posts, and now have a glimpse into what people mean when they say they don't understand me. This blogging exercise is useful, if for no other reason than providing me feed-back on my written communication skills (even if it is from me to myself).

I suppose, a journal may have filled the same purpose; but I rarely ever went back and read my old journal entries. I certainly didn't evaluate them for how well they communicated ideas.

I need to relearn English. Can you believe that it has been over 12 years since I took writing instruction?

I don't know grammar, and I rely on my spell-checker for spelling.

I wonder if there is a good cheap course on writing. I may as well get voice-coaching/public-speaking tuition while I'm at it.

Fun with Orthogonal Transformations

2008-07-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

An orthogonal transformation is defined well at Wolfram's Math site. Essentially it transforms one Cartesian basis to another.

Consider the constraints placed by the Kronecker delta:

δ

ij=ei·ej=[∑(ei·ek')ek']·ej=∑(ei·ek')(ek'·ej) over k

Define

a

ij≡ei'·ej

δ

ij=∑(ei·ek')(ek'·ej)=∑akiakj over k

There is of course a similar set of relations:

δ

ij=∑aikajk over k

They place 0.5n(n+1) constraints over n-dimensional transformations, leaving 0.5n(n-1) degrees of freedom.

Einstein Summation Convention Found Annoying

2008-07-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

Maybe I don't have the mind of a physicist, but I am finding Einstein's Summation Convention to be very annoying. I can (sort of) see how it may save a publisher space, or a writer time. But, for a layman reader, like myself, the convention means every equation may be interpreted at least a couple of ways.

My Appetite for Physics Has Returned

2008-07-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

I am never reading just one book at a time. I get interested in other stuff at the same time. So now it seems like, after a long hiatus, I have returned to one of my early favorite subjects, physics.

Unfortunately, I am so rusty, that I need a refresher. So I got out my copy of Mathematics of Classical and Quantum Physics, and will be doing some review.

Physicists look at the same Mathematics as Mathematicians in a different light, so even reviewing their vector notation may be in order.

Trying out News Feeds

2008-07-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

You will see a lot of news on technology and stocks (and some other random stuff) now.

"Left Brained vs. Right Brained" Nonsense

2008-07-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

Why are people so down on the left brain?

Is it to make up for the older times when the right brain was denigrated?

The left brain gives us analysis, without which, creativity would be an empty shell.

Michaelangelo, da Vinci, and many of our great artists were quite analytical as well as creative. Both had some background in the sciences as well as the arts.

Analysis without creativity should be left to the computer. Programming is a different matter.

It seems like only people who haven't programed a lot believe programming to be a purely left-brained activity.

There is a similar thing with Math. Not until you take an "anything goes" approach to touching upon the key ideas of a Mathematical proof, and watch them work out in logical splendor, will you appreciate all the beauty there is in Math. It is necessary, but not sufficient to do so :)

How do you spot a scam?

2008-07-15T22:56:00.000-07:00

I've been getting a lot of calls from people offering opportunities for business. The first step is always either free or very cheap, and the information comes in small book form or an initial seminar.

The next step: when you got said seminar (often free) you get pitched high-priced offers to do other programs.

At the other programs they will present some information, but pitch still higher priced things.

The activities tend to be semi-legit things...

Tax-liens/Tax Deeds, real-estate education, stocks, options, commodities, legal advice, grant writing help, auction web-sites, whole-sale drop-shipping, cash-flows, various MLM programs, and many more...

I am sure some of them actually worked. I've indeed used one of the stock tools to good effect. I have recovered the money I spent many times over, and their tools are very rich and powerful. But I wonder if the stock tool was a fluke, and if maybe that experience has primed me as a sucker for other such deals.

If you think about it, these aren't very different from the exercise equipment, and fad kitchen devices. If you are actually going to use it and make it work, then it may not be a rip-off, but we know that most of that crap will barely make it out of the box. I wager, this fact is known also to those selling the products.

Are they scams though? There are so many reports on Sears, Disney, and other such companies on Rip-Off report. There will always be unsatisfied customers.

I am unfortunately a sucker for such things (kind-of soft-spoken, and seeking a better life), but I managed to say no this time. Eventually, I would like to string some of these schemes to the point that I have replaced my regular income, and eventually to be financially free.

I'm thinking it may actually be easier to pitch my idea to VCs and get rejected 100s of times till I get an idea that sticks. It somehow feels more legit.

Why I am like Captain Ahab

2008-07-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

My Current Obsessions

Greatness (I know, the arrogance)
- I want to be an amazing something
  - 1) A great inventor
  - 2) A great scientist/mathematician
  - 3) A brilliant business person come philanthropist
  - 4) World class at something difficult

Peace of Mind
- I want that deep peaceful and powerful concentration I used to have as a kid
- I want to be able to think deeply about a subject with patience and trust that the process will be fruitful

Being Inspired/Motivated
- I want the sense of wonderment to be powerful enough for me to accomplish things
- I want the trust that I will have the time and energy to make something constructive from following my curiosity

Deep Understanding
- I want to understand more things that I am involved with from its constructive "first principles"
- I want to be able to achieve this level of understanding in way that seems more volitional and predictable

I Have Some Strange Ideals About Technology

2008-07-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

My Strange Ideals About Technology
I want everything tedious/repetitive to be automated
I want every place there is information accessible via a very simple interface
I want to be able to convert all legacy code into modern frameworks
I want every idea to be able to be captured and stored electronically
I want to be able to specify any object and have it made to order
I want energy expenditure to not be a concern (No environmental concerns, No monetary concerns)
I want technology to provide the basic needs for all human beings without the need for them to struggle
I want the scarcity of any resource to not be a concern

I signed up for AdSense

2008-07-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

Based on an earlier conversation with LurativeSid, I decided to try out Google AdSense. It seems fairly unintrusive, assuming the content on my site stays OK. I actually like what they are displaying (ads for Earthquake relief, and Social Entrepreneurship. I'm cool with those.)

Energy, Engagement, or Just Getting Things Done

2008-07-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

So, I've decided to read three "self-help" books at once.

Getting Things Done
High Energy Living
The Power of Full Engagement

The hope is that I will become more effective, energetic, and engaged.

2008-07-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

I wonder if there are any job prospects for the lazy and/or burnt-out.

I don't know hoe I get this low. Lack of sleep yesterday maybe?

I have been having trouble sleeping again. Allergies keep me up. Plus, I'm one of those "long-day"ers.

I'm thinking about what I would do if money, responsibilities, familial concerns were not issues.

I think it's pretty clear that I would go into the renewable energy field. School is not my favorite activity, and I just barely got out of an M.S. with my sanity.

However, a full-time Ph.D. program in Physics, Chemistry or Electrical Engineering, with a focus on renewable energy technologies is the most attractive thing on my mind.

I hate getting up in the morning, and I hate coming in even more. I offered some of my least creative/most conservative suggestions to my technical lead last week (who is very smart, and whom I respect very much) and I was pointed out as thinking "out-of-the-box." This was scary. In my old group, this would have just been taken as a normal good idea.

Big group politics, I guess. All the people can be good, hard-working, knowledgeable people, but the structure itself is so overloaded with red-tape, that making even simple changes that make sense are "out-of-the-box." Sheesh.

Time for me to get out, I think. Either find a more innovative group, or a more innovative company. But moving to a new field, which is just poised to grow, seems like the best idea.

I don't feel like I have the energy to do these projects "on the side." My day job is demanding enough.

I'll keep chewing on it. Being Asian makes the whole family pressure thing very strange.

2008-07-14T12:17:00.001-07:00

This blog hasn't been getting much use. So I've decided to lower my standards. I am simply going to start whining, griping, and or posting stream of consciousness type posts on the blog.

I frankly don't see what's great about g-mail, I already have more e-mail addresses than I can remember.

But I will try it out, since it is required to maintain this blog.

2008-06-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

I am starting this Blog anew. Life hasn't turned out quite like I had hoped.

However, I some how feel a need to vent a lot.

So this blog may contain a lot of ranting and raving, or just a lot of words.