Holiday Reading Guide, Annual Survey
Your feedback is much appreciated; Curious bits and bobs that inspired, entertained, informed or amused me in 2024.
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Holiday Reading Guide
As we go into the holiday season, I have a collection of resources below that have interested, inspired, entertained, or amazed me in some way. I hope that you find them fun and that they usher you into the new year with a spirit of excitement!
[Interesting] How do you measure it?
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) really cares about measuring stuff properly. Our industrialized world keeps ticking because various industries around the world need various standardized references they can use, and this is what NIST specializes in — standardized measurement.
Take for example this standardized cigarette ignition test. Oh, and you can buy one too if you’re a smoker! Be warned that it is really expensive though. Their online store might make for some really interesting Christmas gifts. Check out their catalog.
We recently looked at timekeeping in a two part series, where NIST maintains atomic fountain clocks, like the NIST-F1/F2 that lose 1 second in 300 million years. They also have amazing methods to perform other feats of engineering such as,
0.1mm accuracy measurement of a 1-kilometer long measuring tape in a 60 meter long tunnel.
Rocket thrust measurement using 20 stainless steel discs each weighing 50,000 pounds, stacked 35 feet high.
Ballistics test of body armor using modeling clay, where depth of impression must be less than 44 millimeters to pass performance standards.
(via NIST: How do you measure it?)
[Funny] Britney Spears’ guide to semiconductor physics
When I started writing my giant ever-evolving guide to semiconductor physics to put on this Substack (yet to be published), I came across this internet gem from 1999.
This mash-mash of the pop icon and semiconductor physics is the brainchild of Carl Hepburn, who was then a physics postgrad at the University of Essex. His approach to teaching device physics is definitely more creative than those bland energy diagrams you find in textbooks, which is what makes online resources so much more interesting. Also, how else can you convince teenagers to take up STEM degrees?
This website made quite a splash at the time, being covered by Vice and BBC News. It’s amazing that the website is still online after 25 years.
(via britneyspears.ac)
[Science] What is Entropy?
Speaking of amazing online resources, I came across this fantastic document on the meaning of entropy in physics by John Baez, a mathematical physicist at University of California, Riverside. It’s a long and fascinating read, and honestly, I’m still working on it. What really got my attention is his teaching style for something so complicated. It’s conversational, intuitive and captivating to read. He also periodically includes puzzles so that you can put to test what you have just learned. This writing style is what I want to emulate on this Substack to explain semiconductors and its applications. Also check out his guide to “How to learn Math and Physics.”
(via What is Entropy?)
[Engineering] How to build a $20 billion semiconductor fab
The CHIPS Act, national security, supply chain and semiconductor fabs are all over the news these days. I’m not entirely sure the people making the decisions fully comprehend the complexity involved in building up a semiconductor fab. I didn’t either, until I read an excellent post by Brian Potter on the Construction Physics Substack.
A modern 5-nm class process has over 2000 steps required before a finished product is delivered from the fab. Tools such as the advanced EUV machines used for leading edge nodes are flown in on three cargo planes and assembled on site, and cost nearly half a billion dollars. The HVAC systems needed to maintain extremely clean environments required for chip fabrication and high yield are truly a modern marvel. To top it off, the entire cleanroom floor is placed on giant pistons that actively insulate it from vibrations, especially considering that fabs such as TSMC are built up in a seismically active area. Definitely read the original post below.
[Design] Contraption Theory
This is my favorite read of the year about the aesthetics behind an engineering design by Venkatesh Rao, on the Substack Contraptions. He uses the example of helicopters as the perfect contraption with a high “contraption factor” defined as the ratio of system complexity and design integrity. A contraption is a collection of weird gizmos that meld together oddly to make something work, often accompanied by high complexity and “one weird trick” at the heart of it all.
I think semiconductors are inherently contraptions too, although they look nice and shiny on the outside. Especially in the world of analog and RF circuits, the design starts off being quite intentional, and by the time it is productized, it becomes a collection of weird tricks that often don’t carry over to future designs.
Look at the world of silicon photonics. The fact that we can’t build lasers on silicon means that we have to jury-rig indium phosphide lasers to silicon to create the “franken-chips” of the electronics world.
Chiplets are another example. One process node does not meet all the requirements of a system, so we need to make a large number of seemingly arbitrary decisions on how to make multiple chips each in its own technology, and make them fit during packaging. Each of these things has the “one weird trick” to make them work. That’s what is so contraptiony about it.
[Essay] Elon Dreams and Bitter Lessons
This is a great thought-piece by Ben Thompson on Stratechery where he explains how Elon Musk’s dream of $15 million space launches were dismissed in 2013 as “a dream from which people will wake up” by Richard Bowles, a former executive at the European rocket company Arianespace.
A decade later, SpaceX has transformed rocket launches achieving costs an order of magnitude lower than their competitors due to their reusability of rocket parts. Today we are able to setup satellite cell towers in space enabling direct-to-cellular technology, in part due to the lower cost of putting satellites in orbit.
The question is whether we will see this pattern repeat in self driving cars where Musk has been a proponent of the camera only approach, over using expensive lidar technology. Majority of the industry seems to place their bets on lidar being essential for self driving cars, but it remains to be seen how this tech pans out.
(via Elon Dreams and Bitter Lessons)
[Corporate] Netflix Culture
I have worked at a few companies in my career, and every one of them have the same old corporate values that don’t stand out or inspire in any way. It’s just standard format, boilerplate wording like “Integrity, Respect, Excellence” (which apparently Enron had on their wall) that seems like it’s there because somebody said it should be. I never gave this much thought, until a friend and colleague sent over 125 slides explaining Netflix’s corporate culture. The whole document is full of gems such as,
Adequate performance gets a severance package.
We’re a team, not family.
Unconditional loyalty is not expected, only two-way tolerance of near-term bad spells.
Results over process, limiting bureaucracy and increasing employee freedoms.
Managing people with context, not control.
I particularly like this graph below. I have never read a powerpoint presentation so intently, and you should too. If you are in a position of power to implement some of these ideas in your own organization, I sincerely hope you do. Check out Netflix’s culture statement.
[Book] Longitude by Dava Sobel
You might not realize it, but the problem of finding our exact location on Earth 300 years ago was as intractable as finding a cancer cure today.
In 1707, under English Admiral Clouwdisly Shovell’s navigation, four out of five warships struck land killing over 2000 sailors. When one of the sailors onboard had warned the Admiral that they were off course, he had the sailor hanged on the spot for mutiny. The Admiral survived the ships, but was murdered for his emerald ring when he washed up ashore.
After this disaster, the Queen announced a prize of £20,000 (in 1714) to anyone who could determine longitude to half a degree of the great circle. This problem occupied the minds of many, including greats like Issac Newton who sought to use the stars to find longitude.
Longitude was eventually found due to the unwavering, lifelong dedication of one man, John Harrison. Rather than use the heavens for navigation, it turned out that timekeeping was ultimately the most accurate way to determine longitude. His son later joined him in the quest for the greatest timepiece ever known to humankind, the H4, which was a remarkable feat of engineering. Our GPS systems today work on the same principle of time synchronization that ultimately worked to find longitude.
This fascinating story, and many, many more in Dava Sobel’s short book “Longitude” charts the history of timekeeping and the difficulties and politics involved in claiming the ultimate Longitude Prize. It’s a short book that I really enjoyed and I recommend it, especially if you want some high quality in-flight reading during your holiday travel.
If you have other book recommendations or reading material, then do share them in the comments below. It’s one way to expand this holiday reading guide.
Happy reading!
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Happy holidays, Vik! I really enjoy reading your newsletter
Thanks for the reading list!