Go Matt Go! Opera is for the rich and snooty! And you can only enjoy it if the acoustics are just right and you have a decent.. ooh wait....the browser currently known as Opera.

I'll have to sing a different tune now.

Davonshire

I fully agree this is a 999 hoax. 9 volts is an interesting arbitrary number,
what's more to get 2 amps is pretty ridiculously high amount of power.

So I'm calling BS as well.

When it is complete, it will be yet another amazing accomplishment of computer science, answering a call for a problem created by people who we elected or selected to help guard the citizens of the united states and the world.

The problem of course isn't the focus of article. Nor are the resources this new answer will require made totally clear but at least it gives us a glimps of how much we're willing to spend to maintain the national vision of 'Safe'.

The Hoover dam produces 2.8 Million kilowatts, this consumes about 0.11% of Hoover's capacity, now with the power conversion and distance to source you can expect that to pretty much quadruple in real energy terms. So let's say 0.44%, no mention of how much power the entire facility will need to operate it. (cooling, lighting, communications etc.) but I bet it's at least another 0.1% when properly tallied in.

I think it's great that the government can spend this much money on a machine to help ensure the readiness of our amazing nuclear arsenal. But since this is an enhancment to another machine not long ago built to do the same thing. You have to wonder how much power, money, heat, carbon and whatever else we worry about will be used to build the next machine for the same purpose.

The stockpile of our arsenal should be dwindling till we end up with a nice comfy number of weapons that can only wipe us out 2 or 3 times over.

Does it make you wonder what could happen if this tool was used to help solve some of 'it's own problems?' the one that will ensure come 2012 there's enough power to power it?

Let's hope the DOE has plans to use spare cpu power to find better materials for power production, conduction and storage. The quickest way to ensure prosperity is to have enough power to do all you need and some of your wants.

There is not a single future world utopia that does not demonstrate a ubiquitous availibility of energy. Not Star Trek, Star Wars, Back to the Future II etc etc etc.

While it's reasonable to consider lowering our energy needs in all things, the less we consume, the more, there should be for the future. It is no guarentee. Energy is one thing I do not think anyone can argue, life can exist without in some form or another.

Fusion I prophetically believe is a blind alley that will never produce a sustainable energy credit. At least not in the way it's described currently.

It's not just a question of being able to generate power either, we have to have cheap, economical and plentiful ways to convey the power and store it. We've done great things to increase the efficiency of the things that use the power we currently produce. But no matter how much better we make them eventually it will not outpace our current propensity to consume the power we make.

Turn the problem on it's head and see if any change falls out.

Have a nice day.

<1 kiloflops