MIT researchers pedal to power computers
The power that each one of us has inside us, we are so ignorant about it. Scientists have been going bonkers looking for alternatives to back up our energy need. But they in a way underestimated the human power itself. The students at MIT though have come up with a simple yet inspiring solution- Pedal Power.
A feast for the eyes and brains, 10 students of the MIT cycling team gathered in red, white and black uniforms for an enthralling display of the power of the human muscle. The lobby of the MIT’s Stata center became witness to human powered computing.
As the members pedalled their bikes, they powered a few super computers which ran an application that further stimulated fusion reaction. The direct current produced by pedalling the cycles (the cycles were connected to a generator, which in turn was connected to a converter) got transformed into alternating current through the converter.
A small chip in the low powered super computer, with six processors, uses only eight watts of power, whereas a laptop uses about 100 watts of power. That’s some relevant calculation.
Innovative Zero emission inventions, with the power of the pedal, the event was part of the Innovate or die contest, sponsored by Google and Specialized Bicycle Components of Morgan Hill, CA. The inspiration to try and achieve a solution to alternative energy, was high too, a specialised bike and cheque of $ 5000 for each member, along with a chance to get an entry into Guinness World Records. The students have to film the entire process of their creativity and post it on YouTube to be able to submit their entries, before Friday, the 14th.
Set to make Guinness world record for human powered computing, it is estimated that about 15 minutes of pedalling by the team, will be able to energise more arithmetic applications done on Earth, upwards of 1960!
Via: Xconomy
Tags: alternate energy, Alternative energy, Cycle, google, human powered computing, MIT, Pedal, super computer
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