[iTRIXX] The seductions of electronics

 Unlike the seductions of an attractive woman, a stylish car, nicely designed lamps or furniture, which can engage our conversational attention for hours on end, we don’t often talk about the seductions of electronics.

Still, I’m convinced that there can be beauty in electronics. I dare say that many of us would agree that a valve can be an attractive object, with its soft glow, integral design, and reflections from the glass. Maybe it can be regarded as sort of tangible emotion?

One circuit that I have always found especially attractive is the diode voltage multiplier of a Cockroft–Walton generator. This circuit has a simplicity and symmetry that could easily make many designers jealous. In its small form with only a few diodes and capacitors, it is the epitome of charm, and in its large form it gives life to the enormous high-voltage generators often seen in science fiction movies (for a few examples, Google for images with Cockroft and Walton as keywords).

Some other nice examples of symmetry are the early ring-core memories (something for the older readers among you) or the design of an Intel processor, which would be right at home in a museum of modern art.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that an attractive bit of electronics is necessarily a better bit electronics – that would be a bit too much – but maybe you can prove me wrong. Do you know of any circuits that have better characteristics or performance due to their specific symmetry, finish, component selection, or layout? Maybe in RF circuits?

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Wisse Hettinga