Alexander Mordvintsev

The Digital Heartbeats (2025) An exploration into the often-overlooked transient states of silicon circuits, where the space between digital clock pulses reveals unexpected complexity and beauty. This 3-minute visual study examines TinyTapeout circuits generating VGA signals for video effects and games, rendered through a custom GDSII to gate-level simulation workflow. The visualization pairs WebGL 3D circuit representation with a WebAssembly gate-level simulator, offering a window into phenomena typically hidden from view. What emerges is a surprising parallel—when observed at this microscopic scale and temporal resolution, the behavior of digital circuits bears remarkable similarities to neural networks. The project doesn't claim definitive conclusions but rather invites viewers to consider this perspective as the camera follows electron pathways searching for stability between clock cycles. The technical approach prioritizes accuracy while allowing for visual clarity, showing how human thoughts encoded in programming languages materialize as physical structures at the nanoscale. These structures, though designed for discrete operation, reveal analog qualities during their transitions. This initial exploration serves as the beginning of a broader series that will delve deeper into the relationship between logical abstractions and their physical realizations. Future installments will continue to examine the rich territory where design intent meets material implementation, expanding on themes that arise when digital certainty gives way to analog reality. Project page: https://znah.net/tt09 Following TinyTapeout designs were used in the video: tt09/tt_um_znah_vga_ca tt08/tt_um_a1k0n_vgadonut tt07/tt_um_algofoogle_raybox_zero tt08/tt_um_a1k0n_nyancat   Music: Between The Spaces · The Soundlings