Just a bit of context: MRAM exists as an IP for long time, but their promise to execute code directly from it didnt really pan out because of speed. So it competes against flash to store the code that is booted into SRAM and it loses there too because of mostly larger area
Linear, symmetric, self-selecting 14-bit molecular memristors (2023)
21–30 of 59 posts
Re: Linear, symmetric, self-selecting 14-bit molecular memristors (2023)
#22Takes me back... There was significant hype around those things when they first managed to build them at scale (~15 years ago), because they were promising for low power, high density persistent storage and are also academically interesting: The "concept" of memristors was explored over 50 years ago (they are passive components that couple electrical charge and magnetical flux, just like a resistor does with current/…
> if it turns out that you can not find the necessary improvements in only a single dimension, then the whole thing is kinda doomed and will probably never be competitive
I don't know, we've been working on digital computers since at least the late 1800s. Sometimes technology just takes a while.
That does make it hard to gamble on it if the time horizon is longer than you need to make a profit.
But I don't think we should convince ourselves that a technology that takes longer than 15 years to become profitable is doomed. If we thought like that we'd still be subsistence hunter gatherers.
Re: Linear, symmetric, self-selecting 14-bit molecular memristors (2023)
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nit: we take 20w of chemical energy not electrical one like computers, way worse efficiency compared to solar panels Id say
That's why the most efficient use of Superman would be to turn a giant crank generating energy
Re: Linear, symmetric, self-selecting 14-bit molecular memristors (2023)
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Our current society converts chemical energy to electrical, not the other way round. So its the electrical energy user that needs a lossy conversion step.
Fossil fuel plants are chemical -> heat -> mechanical -> electrical. The heat -> mechanical step is the inefficient one, sadly limited to ~40% efficiency even with very fancy machinery. Most other conversions can be above 90% efficient.
The efficiency of gas-fired combined cycle power plants can exceed 60% (lower heating value). And their capex is just over $1/W. Combustion turbines are amazing.
With a SOFC topping cycle they might approach 70-80% efficiency. SOFC with just a combustion turbine (no steam bottoming) could exceed 60%. Granted, SOFCs are direct chemical->electrical conversion, but their waste heat is very usefully hot.
I don't think it's entirely a coincidence that nuclear power plants in the US stopped being built about the same time combustion turbines (by themselves, without the steam bottoming cycle) reached efficiency parity with high temperature steam turbines.
(SOFC = solid oxide fuel cell, which operate around 1000 C.)
("Lower heating value" is based on energy that could be obtained burning natural gas to CO2 and water vapor. An additional 10% could be obtained by condensing the water vapor to liquid, this is "higher heating value".)
Re: Linear, symmetric, self-selecting 14-bit molecular memristors (2023)
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
What value does it provide over linking to the original source? Any website that constantly asks me to login is spammy in by book. It's a for profit website that adds little value other than duplicating information from primary sources and occasionally mangling pdfs with redundant information to advertise themselves.
They also provide a central place to search things, with a richer interface than Google scholar, and have centralized a significant amount of good sources. There's a reason millions of researchers have joined. That you don't find value or know what they provide is no reason others should not learn the value they add.
They also show ads: https://www.researchgate.net/marketing-solutions
As a researcher I don’t see any value there. I’ll stick with Arxiv, thanks.
Re: Linear, symmetric, self-selecting 14-bit molecular memristors (2023)
#26> 460× less energy than digital computers The brain is running on 20W of power and it has the best LLM, the best robotics control unit, very good sensor integration and all the other exciting stuff which we* want** AIs to have. I'd rather have that than nuclear powerplants feeding data centers. * overreaching a bit ** also not really true for everyone
> and it has the best LLM It takes many years to train it though
Not really. Consider private equity’s solution to our doctor shortage. Import foreign trained physicians without requiring additional training. Give them access to an electronic medical record eith AI. Teach them how to click a mouse so they can copy/paste notes.Use digital real time translation to allow anyone to talk to anyone. Have them ‘treat’ 100 patients a day. Pay them next to nothing. When some patient suffers, allow the legal system to crucify the imported ‘doctor’. Deport that one and get the next one.
Now you know why you always see new doctors
Re: Linear, symmetric, self-selecting 14-bit molecular memristors (2023)
#27Just a bit of context: MRAM exists as an IP for long time, but their promise to execute code directly from it didnt really pan out because of speed. So it competes against flash to store the code that is booted into SRAM and it loses there too because of mostly larger area
I think memristors are technically more closely related to ReRAM (RRAM) than to MRAM. Though ReRAM so far also just unsuccessfully competes against NAND flash.
Re: Linear, symmetric, self-selecting 14-bit molecular memristors (2023)
#28> 460× less energy than digital computers The brain is running on 20W of power and it has the best LLM, the best robotics control unit, very good sensor integration and all the other exciting stuff which we* want** AIs to have. I'd rather have that than nuclear powerplants feeding data centers. * overreaching a bit ** also not really true for everyone
Should we just not grow robots organically then?
We have the DNA structure.. why not..
Re: Linear, symmetric, self-selecting 14-bit molecular memristors (2023)
#29Takes me back... There was significant hype around those things when they first managed to build them at scale (~15 years ago), because they were promising for low power, high density persistent storage and are also academically interesting: The "concept" of memristors was explored over 50 years ago (they are passive components that couple electrical charge and magnetical flux, just like a resistor does with current/…
> if it turns out that you can not find the necessary improvements in only a single dimension, then the whole thing is kinda doomed and will probably never be competitive I don't know, we've been working on digital computers since at least the late 1800s. Sometimes technology just takes a while. That does make it hard to gamble on it if the time horizon is longer than you need to make a profit. But I don't think we s…
Absolutely! For the record: I don't think that memristors are doomed to be useless-- we'll have to find out.
My point is just that even with research-tech that sounds absolutely amazing (low power, persistent, high density) you just need to fail on a single dimension for it to basically become irrelevant.
This is also why its so easy for media to overhype research results, which (predictably) results in continuous disappointments and loss of trust (of the public) in science reporting and/or even science in general...
Re: Linear, symmetric, self-selecting 14-bit molecular memristors (2023)
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
> and it has the best LLM It takes many years to train it though
Not really. Consider private equity’s solution to our doctor shortage. Import foreign trained physicians without requiring additional training. Give them access to an electronic medical record eith AI. Teach them how to click a mouse so they can copy/paste notes.Use digital real time translation to allow anyone to talk to anyone. Have them ‘treat’ 100 patients a day. Pay them next to nothing. When some patient suffer…
Yes really, human doctors start a medical degree at what, 17 or 18? Then it's a 4-6 year medical school followed by 3-7 years residency depending on your country and education system.
(This is also why LLMs passing medical exams, though impressive, has not rendered the profession obsolete: LLMs are book smart, but don't have the implicit knowledge that we humans only gain from practical experience).