3 ms·
* CDs and DVDs need computation for doing the error correction, not to mention compression for the latter * WiFi needs to do channel modeling * You can't frack
by GFK_of_xmaspast 10y ago
* CDs and DVDs need computation for doing the error correction, not to mention compression for the latter
* WiFi needs to do channel modeling
* You can't frack if you can't do the computational work needed to find the reserves in the first place
- graycat 10y agoYes, but in principle the computing for the fracking could have been done with the computers 40+ years old. Yes, but, e.g., CD/DVDs are also terrific because of how the lasers are used to read/write the disks. So, CD/DVDs are amazing even without the connection with computing. So, the computing is not the whole story. IMHO, similarly for the other examples I gave.
- GFK_of_xmaspast 10y ago> Yes, but in principle the computing for the fracking could have been done with the computers 40+ years old Doubtful. The size of the meshes needed for good-enough solutions to the PDEs is immense (and there's a reason the oil and gas industry has been buying supercomputers since the early days).
- graycat 10y agoI hadn't heard that PDEs were crucial to the practical progress in fracking. The applied math I heard about was really mostly just the fast Fourier transform (FFT) for deconvolution of seismic signals to identify rock layers. The FFT was in, what, 1968 or so so 40+ years ago? Well, the computers of 1968 could do some really good FFT calculations.