Fascinating video. I watched almost the whole thing without planning to, I got sucked in.
This is one of those examples of software that reminds me of my struggle to understand how LLMs are passing code evaluations that culminate with people declaring that they are now better than even the best human coders. I have tried to get LLMs (specifically, Claude and ChatGPT, trying various models) to assist with niche problems and it's been a terrible experience. Fantastic with CRUD or common algorithms, terrible when it's something novel or unusual.
The author creates his own version of a "FLIP simulation". I'm going to go out on a limb and posit that even ChatGPT's unreleased o3 model would not be up to the task of writing the software that powers this pendant. Is this incorrect? I realize perhaps that my comment is a little off-topic given that this is not an AI project. However, this project seems like an excellent example of the sort of thing that I am quite skeptical the supposedly "world-class" artificial software engineers could pull off.
A teacher once told me their (middle? high?) school was the last in their state with lathes. Something which couldn't be created there today, and couldn't exist now in some other states, but which had been repeatedly grandfathered, since its creation with many others, just after World War 2. And that it would disappear upon the first serious accident, leaving none at all.
This project is an incredible mix of artistry and engineering. the attention to detail in both the fluid simulation and the hardware design is mindblowing(especially the clever use of charlieplexing to optimize LED placement
congrats!!
this is so incredibly impressive. I find projects and the people who do this so inspiring and also deflating because while I can appreciate the work ethic and polymath skills needed for this I couldn't recreate this. I'll just have to hang back and appreciate.
Any other similar creators with this level of polish (pun intended) and interests to follow?
Weirdly I am drawn to his previous idea of using an actual liquid (mercury) to trigger the LEDs. So much simpler to lay out in KiCad, no 4-layers required....
I would love to see a version with wireless charging, though that might be tough with the all metal enclosure, perhaps it could be done through the front/screen section.
Also, adopting the screen off function Apple watches use could be a cool addition, for that it would need a light sensor. On an Apple Watch, you can switch the screen off by simply covering the screen with your hand.
Fascinating that with such a simple simulation you can see grain boundaries like those in metals forming. Look at the second image, those are almost identical to what they looked like in our material science courses.
I am tempted to make a slightly sillier version of this w/ a circular lcd rather than the uhh retro-cool smt leds honestly just to avoid the multiplexing design
The HN guidelines say not to complain about the formatting or presentation of the article, but often the page design is so insanely terrible that someone can't help but post a complaint about how they couldn't read it because X, or how it didn't work on browser Y, or how the information density was so annoyingly low it wore out their mouse or pointing finger, or...
This isn't one of those posts. Good job to the author. This article is not only nicely written but also a pleasure to read.
Fluid Simulation Pendant
(mitxela.com)495 points by sschueller 13 January 2025 | 69 comments
Comments
This is one of those examples of software that reminds me of my struggle to understand how LLMs are passing code evaluations that culminate with people declaring that they are now better than even the best human coders. I have tried to get LLMs (specifically, Claude and ChatGPT, trying various models) to assist with niche problems and it's been a terrible experience. Fantastic with CRUD or common algorithms, terrible when it's something novel or unusual.
The author creates his own version of a "FLIP simulation". I'm going to go out on a limb and posit that even ChatGPT's unreleased o3 model would not be up to the task of writing the software that powers this pendant. Is this incorrect? I realize perhaps that my comment is a little off-topic given that this is not an AI project. However, this project seems like an excellent example of the sort of thing that I am quite skeptical the supposedly "world-class" artificial software engineers could pull off.
A teacher once told me their (middle? high?) school was the last in their state with lathes. Something which couldn't be created there today, and couldn't exist now in some other states, but which had been repeatedly grandfathered, since its creation with many others, just after World War 2. And that it would disappear upon the first serious accident, leaving none at all.
On the same note, I've been working on a bike POV display with lots of LEDs and just got "live-ish" video working over wifi with it:
https://youtu.be/hxAHBvuyqpY?si=8XraFuG_Fi54Bs7T
Any other similar creators with this level of polish (pun intended) and interests to follow?
Also, adopting the screen off function Apple watches use could be a cool addition, for that it would need a light sensor. On an Apple Watch, you can switch the screen off by simply covering the screen with your hand.
Since the LED's are all the same component and therefore heat at the same speed in the oven, I don't think that would cause tombstoning.
I am tempted to make a slightly sillier version of this w/ a circular lcd rather than the uhh retro-cool smt leds honestly just to avoid the multiplexing design
great work!! super cool
I can see a good video as far as show/don't tell my stuff is dry/way too much info. Guess it depends verbatim tutorial vs. just showcasing.
This isn't one of those posts. Good job to the author. This article is not only nicely written but also a pleasure to read.