6 ms·
By 2040, computers will need more electricity than the world can generate
- nhebb 10y agoThe Joules/year on the graph is a flat line from now to 2040. It ought to read "does generate" instead of "can generate'.
- JosephRedfern 10y agoIt isn't a flat line: http://i.imgur.com/oTUC2Nf.jpg http://i.imgur.com/oTUC2Nf.jpg. The black bar I added is flat.
- nhebb 10y agoFair enough, but that's still "projected to generate" not "can generate".
- kahrkunne 10y agoWe'd probably increase power production before that point, methinks
- samjohnson 10y agoWhy is the world's energy production a constant value from 2010 to 2040? Surely we produce more energy today than we did 30 years ago. Is this just a chart scale issue?
- IshKebab 10y agoIt's not constant, and the scale is logarithmic. That said I think this prediction is really insane and goes against common sense.
- hexomancer 10y agoWhat?! A constant in logarithmic scale is still a constant.
- coldtea 10y agoParent said IT's NOT constant.
- _nalply 10y agoAs pointed out by JosephRedfern, the production line is not exactly flat but has a very slight grade (http://i.imgur.com/oTUC2Nf.jpg http://i.imgur.com/oTUC2Nf.jpg). This means they postulate an increase in production.
- coldtea 10y ago>Why is the world's energy production a constant value from 2010 to 2040? Surely we produce more energy today than we did 30 years ago. Not that much compared to the change in computers from 30 years ago.
- dharma1 10y agoA human brain runs on 20W. I think we have a lot of work ahead of us
- jlmendezbonini 10y ago>So a typical adult human brain runs on around 12 watts http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/thinking-hard-calories/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/thinking-hard-calo...
- danmaz74 10y agoI always find it funny when projections decades into the future show straight lines. Even more so when the scale is logarithmic.
- dottedmag 10y agoObligatory URL: https://xkcd.com/605/ https://xkcd.com/605/
- yaantc 10y agoI agree with the general sentiment, but their point here (as I understand it) is to show that the current trend cannot continue like this. The source paper has a poor choice of word in an appendix, saying "when the energy required for computing will exceed the estimated world’s energy production" with "will" instead of "would", but it's clear from the text they don't believe this. The next sentence is: "Thus, radical improvement in the energy efficiency of computing is needed".
- traverseda 10y ago>Thus, radical improvement in the energy efficiency of computing is needed Isn't that what all these new arm boards are?
- eternalban 10y agoReversible computing[1][2]. & I most highly recommend this fantastic lecture on the Physics of Computing:https://youtu.be/OEzuZ6BpC-g https://youtu.be/OEzuZ6BpC-g https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_computing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversible_computing https://youtu.be/qPgveUgK8P4 https://youtu.be/qPgveUgK8P4
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- jakozaur 10y agoIn 1894, the Times of London estimated that by 1950 every street in the city would be buried nine feet deep in horse manure.