Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror

Comment The reason these kind of problems start is ... (Score 1) 55

These are exactly the kind of problems most corporations have. Apple didn't used to have them because it had an actual qualified technologist at the helm. But since Steve Jobs died, the bean counters are in charge and -just like with every other large corporation besides Tesla & SpaceX, once they take over, nobody high enough in the company to get stuff done understands well enough to get anything done. Next Step: Mediocracy. Sigh. It's not Tim Cook's fault, he's just not technically qualified.

Power

A Colony of Blue-Green Algae Can Power a Computer For Six Months (interestingengineering.com) 49

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Interesting Engineering: Researchers from the University of Cambridge have managed to run a computer for six months, using blue-green algae as a power source. A type of cyanobacteria called Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 -- commonly known as "blue-green algae," which produces oxygen through photosynthesis when exposed to sunlight, was sealed in a small container, about the size of an AA battery, made of aluminum and clear plastic.

Christopher Howe from the University of Cambridge and colleagues claim that similar photosynthetic power generators could be the source of power for a range of small devices in the future, without the need for the rare and unsustainable materials used in batteries. The battery made of blue-green algae has provided a continuous current across its anode and cathode that ran a microprocessor. The computer ran in cycles of 45 minutes. It was used to calculate sums of consecutive integers to simulate a computational workload, which required 0.3 microwatts of power, and 15 minutes of standby, which required 0.24 microwatts. The microcontroller measured the device's current output and stored this data in the cloud for researchers to analyze.

Howe suggests that there are two potential theories for the power source. Either the bacteria itself produces electrons, which creates a current, or it creates conditions in which an aluminum anode in the container is corroded in a chemical reaction that produces electrons. The experiment ran without any significant degrading of the anode and because of that, the researchers believe that the bacteria is producing the bulk of the current. Howe says that the approach could be scaled up, but further research is needed to figure out how far.
The research was published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science.

Comment Re:Not really rocket science (Score 1) 96

You are right. But if Tesla FSD (which is currently, according to NHTSA 9x safer than human drivers, on average) isn't safe enough for you, then human drivers should be banned TODAY. And I live in a rural area where it's hard enough to find *paved* roads; the idea of the level of infrastructure required for your separate cars from pedestrians is laughable.

When Teslas get to be 20x or 50x or 100x safer than human drivers and insurance companies begin changing their rates based on that, you will see human fatalities plunge and folks like you no longer allowed to drive on roads AT ALL. And I (and my other blind brethren) will rejoice.

Slashdot Top Deals

"Open Channel D..." -- Napoleon Solo, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Working...