The Electrified Skies: Battery Design Challenges for Electric Aircraft

In this week’s podcast, we are investigating the challenges of designing batteries for electric aircraft with Dr. Graham Dudgeon from MathWorks. Graham has some great insights on how modeling and simulation are helping aerospace engineers tackle the thermal, electrical, and mechanical complexities of these cutting-edge power systems. Graham and I also chat about … Read More → "The Electrified Skies: Battery Design Challenges for Electric Aircraft"

Efficient Computer’s Efficient Computer is 100X More Energy Efficient than Other General-Purpose Processors

I remember the heady days of the 1970s, when new and exciting 8-bit processor architectures were sprouting like metaphorical mushrooms. I’m sure that, like me, you are thinking of little beauties like the 8008 (1972), 8080 (1974), and 8085 (1976) from Intel, the 6800 (1974) from Motorola, the 6502 (1975) from MOS Technology, and the Z80 (1976) from Zilog.

However, there were many other contenders that deserve mention, such as the 8-bit PPS-8 (1974) from Rockwell International, which … Read More → "Efficient Computer’s Efficient Computer is 100X More Energy Efficient than Other General-Purpose Processors"

Fish Fry Special Edition: Amelia’s Favorite Episodes for 2025

People frequently ask me if I have a favorite podcast episode. Well folks, here are my favorites for 2025! The top of the list is an episode called “Have Your Cake and Eat The Batteries too!. In this episode, I explore how fungi can function as organic memory devices, the details of RoboCake, a multi-tiered dessert featuring various edible components and the world’ … Read More → "Fish Fry Special Edition: Amelia’s Favorite Episodes for 2025"

January 13, 2026
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featured chalk talk

eUSB2 Redriver (Non-Retiming Repeater)
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Dong Nguyen from NXP and Amelia Dalton explore the features of NXP’s PTN3222 eUSB Redriver. They investigate how it overcomes signal integrity challenges and why it’s the ideal solution for ensuring seamless compatibility between your cutting-edge silicon and the world of standard USB 2.0.
Jan 12, 2026
25 views

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Revolutionizing AI Chip Development: Synopsys Solutions for the Future

Sponsored by Synopsys

In the AI era, demand for advanced chips is soaring, creating scaling and power challenges. Discover how Synopsys accelerates AI chip development with innovative solutions, robust partnerships, and cutting-edge silicon IP for first-pass silicon success.

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discussion
Posted on Jan 13 at 1:01pm by Max Maxfield
I was chatting with Joe about the idea of creating a little program that combines address mode switching with recursion with self-modifying code -- that will make your eyes water LOL
Posted on Jan 13 at 12:58pm by Max Maxfield
If you perform any 4-bit logic operation (AND, OR, XOR), it will set the N and Z flags. If you perform a COMP (compare), it will set the O, N, Z, and C flags to represent A > B, A < B, A == B (== 0), and A == B (!= 0). The clever thing is that ...
Posted on Jan 13 at 12:53pm by Max Maxfield
I'm in touch with Joe almost every day -- we're going with his implementation because it has some really cool features (like being able to switch between 8-bit and 12-bit addressing on the fly, which will make reverse engineering our code a real treat :-) Don't worry, there will still ...
Posted on Jan 13 at 12:30pm by Max Maxfield
Hi Kev -- thanks for your comment -- I'll reach out to the folks at Efficient to see if they'll respond.
Posted on Jan 10 at 4:37pm by Doug
Re: the architecture. I meant as compared to Joe’s. Joe’s multipurpose function-plexer would be a design playground, so that’s cool in its own right. So, LEDs were the tie breaker.
Posted on Jan 10 at 4:34pm by Doug
I started life on the i4004 (Intel) and it’s been ALUs and CPUs ever since, Fairchild 9400 bit-slice, 100K ECL ALU for a systolic array. So, full speed ahead, Max. I think you architecture might lend itself to 2 very important ideas. Firstly, you can deploy more LEDs. Secondly, there is ...
Posted on Jan 10 at 11:09am by Kev
The Efficient guys are trying to do two things at once: in-memory computing and heterogeneous computing. The in/near-memory stuff is also being done by SpiNNcloud with SpiNNaker2 and others, and there are a number folks doing specialized processors (and you can use FPGAs). Should you feel like joining them, ...
Posted on Jan 8 at 8:33am by Max Maxfield
This is very cool -- thanks so much for sharing -- Max
Posted on Jan 8 at 8:32am by Max Maxfield
I love the Turbo Encabulator -- I wish I'd created a video like this myself
Posted on Jan 8 at 6:22am by Max Maxfield
But soldering is fun LOL I'm actually thinking of the final ALU as a piece of wall art (remember each sub-function and multiplexer will be festooned with LEDs -- mounted in a shadow box, doing something like calculating the value of Pi for all eternity.
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featured blogs
Jan 13, 2026
The last thing I need at the moment is yet another project, but I'm sorely tempted by the Framework Laptop 12 DIY Edition....
Power-over-Coax (PoC): Solutions for Automotive SerDes
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and TDK
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Erik Landi from TDK and Amelia Dalton explore the impact PoC communication has had on automotive innovation, the benefits TDK Power over Coax solutions can bring to your next design, and where PoC technology is headed in the future.
Jan 12, 2026
950 views
High-Speed FAKRA-Mini Interconnect System
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Molex
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Kirk Ulery from Molex and Amelia Dalton explore the trends driving a need for external and internal data connections in automotive applications. They also investigate the benefits of the FAKRA Mini interconnect system and why the new locking and shielding mechanisms make this system rugged enough for the harshest automotive environments.
Dec 22, 2025
46,313 views
Simplifying Position Control with Advanced Stepper Motor Driver
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Jiri Keprda from STMicroelectronics and Amelia Dalton explore the benefits of the powerSTEP01 is a system-in-package from STMicroelectronics. They also examine how this solution can streamline overall position control architecture, the high level commands included in this solution and the variety of advanced diagnostics included in the powerSTEP01 system-in-package.
Jan 21, 2025
31,008 views