[colechristensen]

The gravity well time dilation is about 3.5 nanoseconds per meter per year near the surface of the earth. (time changes rate with altitude in a gravity well)

Sub-nanosecond synchronization is getting into the relativity is measurable realm.

[mike_hock]

That means you get a free clock cycle every 2-3 hours on top of a mountain compared to sea level!

[brookst]

Datacenters in spaaaace!

[Gravityloss]

But they travel at 8 km/s so actually that cancels benefits? EDIT: checked, not enough to cancel them completely.

[pwndByDeath]

I wonder I'd that's the math for the ludicrous space data center ideas "floating" around...

[OutOfHere]

Just because you don't understand how something can work doesn't make it ludicrous. People like you are hell bent on destroying what's left of the Earth by turning it into a computer. If we left progress to those without an imagination, we wouldn't even have had a working calculator.

[ted_dunning]

You're right.

It's the physics of cooling the beasts and the communication delays that make those plans ludicrous.

To turn your assertion on its head, the fact that the supporters don't seem to be able (or willing) to do the math to fact check these proposals is not an indicator that the plans will work.

As a starting point for comparison, the total power budget of the ISS is under 100kW and a single supercomputer rack dissipates about 4x that. What changes to the ISS can be made to get 100x more power and dissipate 100x more heat?

[dboreham]

That might be true if the proponents had an argument of any sort in support of their plan, other than "we need idiots to give us money".