3 ms·
We used to use a carefully biased diode in the feedback loop of an op-amp to create logarithmic signals. I was expecting the article to dispense with digital e
by smoyer 13y ago
We used to use a carefully biased diode in the feedback loop of an op-amp to create logarithmic signals. I was expecting the article to dispense with digital electronics (in the core of the machine) and use tuned physical properties to actually do the calculations.
What a disappointment that the first few slides imply such a break-through and then we find that the research is simply about reducing precision to the minimum needed. And it's patented? (rolls eyes)
- foxhill 13y agoit's patented? 16 bit floats have been a thing for a long time.. :/ edit: never mind. somehow convinced myself that this was just 16 bit floating point arithmetic. it is not.
- smoyer 13y agoI wrote an IEEE single-point compatible floating point library for embedded 8088/8086 processors in the mid-to-late '80s ... my employer was very cheap! On the other hand, I learned a ton about efficient ways to implement various algorithms and remember a great way to do square roots that involved an initial multiplication (using normalized binary FP numbers) and then converged in about six iterations.