Students Power Supercomputer with Bicycles

inkslinger77 writes "A team of ten MIT students powered a supercomputer for twenty minutes by pedaling bicycles. They duly claimed the world record for human-powered computing (HPC). They powered a SiCortex SC648 supercomputer with a Linux cluster of 648 CPUs and almost 1TB of main memory in a single cabinet. The system is low-powered and draws 1,200 watts without needing special power supplies or cooling..."

A laptop CPU needs 100Watts?

[AnarchyDuck]

a typical notebook computer CPU needing 100 watts, according to SiCortex CEO John Mucci

My laptop draws about 20Watts max when running on battery power, even with the CPU running full-throttle. Much of those watts is for the backlight and drive. A 'typical laptop CPU', an Intel Pentium Mobile, uses maximal 24W, according to the datasheet [intel.com] provided by Intel. Saying a laptop would typically use 100W is a bit overstated.

Re:What I find impressive...

[MichaelSmith]

What I find impressive is the fact that apparently, the average power output of each cyclist was at least 120 W

A quick google suggests that 400 W is about right for a rider in good condition for a short time.

Re:Question

[Yetihehe]

You must be superhuman. Best cyclists can endure 200 wats for few hours. I could make 200w for 5 minutes (tested on ergometer [wikipedia.org]).

Re:Question

[Simon Brooke]

You must be superhuman. Best cyclists can endure 200 wats for few hours. I could make 200w for 5 minutes (tested on ergometer [wikipedia.org]).

Actually, you're well wrong. Cycling, like anything else, is about power to weight ratio. Lance Armstrong [cruciblefitness.com], in training, could output 6.8 watts per kilogramme, which on his body weight of 74Kg is just over 500 watts. Some of the big fast guys (Tom Boonen [tomboonen.com], Magnus Backstedt [magnusbackstedt.com]) can sustain really startling outputs for long periods of time. I have a friend who peaks around 600 watts and can sustain better than 400 all day; but on his 102Kg that's only 6 watts per Kg. That's strictly amateur - he's fast for us, but he couldn't compete with the pros.

There's nothing at all hard about 200 watts. Any club cyclist who can do a ten mile time trial at evens is sustaining 4.8 watts/Kg for half an hour. I can do that, and I'm probably old enough to be your grandfather. I weigh 82Kg, so for me that's 381 watts. And I can certainly do 200 watts (13.5mph on the flat, for someone my weight) for eight hours continuous without difficulty.